The Encroaching Darkness
by Noeleasy
Summary: The Dwarves within the Azerlisia Mountains have unearthed something perhaps they should not have. Ainz offers to investigate it and unleashes upon the world an ancient evil. Or perhaps a great good. The events in this fan-fiction explores the New World's history but also the futuristic dystopian world of Suzuki Satoru. These events take place after Volume 11.
1. Prologue

**Author's note**

I just want to take a moment to thank everyone that took an interest in my first ever fanfic.

I hope that it is interesting to everyone and that you will stick with me through this venture.

If there is anything I can improve on or if there's something you are concerned about, please let me know my messaging me or through reviews!

 *****Disclaimer*****  
I do not own Overlord/オーバーロード.

Nor do I own anything affiliated with the creation of Kugane Maruyama. If you enjoy his work, please consider supporting him.

 **~~~ Prologue~~~**

Ainz sat up from his bed inside his room at the E-Rantel castle. He was reading another extremely complicate book that he found from Ashurbanipal that gave him headaches. This was all for show though as he did not want to ruin his image as a wise and all-knowing king in front of the homunculus maid he was assigned today.

Her name was Ananta. Yesterday was the day she was assigned to attend to Ainz and now that she had seen her master sat up from his bed, she immediately stood from the chair she had been sitting on to answer him should he call to her. Ananta watched breathlessly while Ainz slowly laid down the book he was holding onto the nightstand to the right.

 _[Why do all the homunculus maids always have to watch so closely when all I'm doing is lying in a bed reading? Hah…_ ]

Ainz stifled his sigh from physically taking form and gestured with his hand to greet her.

"Good morning, Ainz-sama. I hope that you have rested well. My shift has come to an end but the new attendant should be ready for you. Shall I summon her for you?"

"Umu."

Ainz nodded in approval and the maid swiftly and elegantly said her farewells and left. Just as Ananta had opened the door, a new homunculus maid was already waiting outside. The maid simply nodded to one another and went their own ways. The new maid stepped into the bedroom confidently and then bowed.

"Good morning, Ainz-sama! I, Third, will be your attendant for today. Shall I prepare your clothes for you?"

The new maid enthusiastically greeted her master. The entire night before, she had not slept because of the excitement she felt from being so close to the being she worshiped as a god. All the other homunculus maids that she worked with that day could understand her as they were jealous of such a privilege.

"Umu."

Ainz regally nodded his head and took his place in front of the wardrobe. Third opened the doors and took a quick look inside. In the wardrobe was an assortment of clothes and jewellery that Ainz had placed in there as per the requests of the homunculus maids. Many among them had complained to him about the fact that they could not dress him like other rulers.

Because of their adamant requests, Ainz could not refuse them and had thrown all of his miscellaneous gear, armour skins and also his spare accessories into the wardrobe. Fairly recently, they had pleaded Ainz to extend the variations of clothing and gear. He had refused at first but then had to give as somehow, dressing Ainz had become a competition to the homunculus maids.

When the maids attended to Ainz, they would follow him everywhere with the exception of outside the city walls as Ainz had deemed it too dangerous for them. As they followed behind Ainz as he walked through the halls of Nazarick, sometimes they would pass other homunculus maids going about their duties and the personal attendant feel a sense of accomplishment and glory knowing that another maid had seen how they had dressed their god. It had become a fashion statement for them as they all shared different interests and styles.

Third began gracefully pulling out one piece of clothing at a time and meticulously placing them on Ainz. She chose for him a deep blue robe that had intricate silver embroidering around the edges. The robe hung loosely over Ainz' shoulders and covered his entire body leaving only his face visible. She matched the robe with a large, silver necklace that was studded with various jewels. The necklace extended to Ainz' chest as it hung loose around his neck. Third to the side of Ainz, who was gazing into the wardrobe mirror, and simply stood there.

[ _Eh? It's already over?_ ]

Ainz was surprised at the fact that the outfit was so simplistic compared to the other outfits the previous attendants forced him to wear. He gazed into the mirror for a little while longer trying to remember what kind of taste in clothes this made had. Just as all the homunculus maids had been competing with each other in dressing Ainz, he was also trying to memorise the choices each maid made to try and discern their individual personalities.

"Ainz-sama, is there anything that displeases you?" Third asks nervously.

"No, everything is fine. Summon Demiurge and Albedo to the conference room for our weekly meeting."

"As you wish, Ainz-sama. Right this way." Third guided Ainz to the bedroom door and opened it for him as he walked out of the room. They separated there as Third had went to call the floor guardians and Ainz was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

[ _This has been happening for so long now and I'm still not used to it, huh?_ ] Ainz thought to himself, dejectedly.

There was nothing he could do about it either because when he had been secretly spying on Jircniv, he found that other rulers also had attendants that dressed them. If Ainz wanted to become the perfect ruler that everyone expected him to be, he had to deal with it. No matter how shameful and humiliating it is to have a young beautiful women dress a fully grown man.  
When Ainz arrived at the conference room, he took the head seat at the table. It was not long after that that the floor guardians arrived to report to him. This time, Albedo, Demiurge, Mare and Cocytus were in attendance to report upon their progress and to discuss future plans.

Third took her place standing behind of Ainz as the floor guardians kneeled down before him and gave their greetings. Ainz gestured for them to stand up with a well-practiced motion with his right hand. He had copied this move from Jircniv.

"Let us skip the pleasantries and get right down to business. Albedo, please present your report."

"Yes, Ainz-sama!" Albedo answered in delight. "I am delighted to report that Yuri, Nigredo and Pestonya have already completed their final draft of the education curriculum they wish use to teach the orphans and children. Though the children were frightened of them at first, it would seem that the three had used their charm to win over the kids. Ainz-sama needs only to sign off on the draft and they will begin the experiment on the children!"

[ _Uwah… I'm not sure if I like the way Albedo said "experiment". Why does she think that everything I do has some kind of evil undertone behind it?_ ] Ainz thought as he received the thick pile of paper from Albedo. [ _It would take a week to read all of this! Argh, I'll just skim it._ ]

He took a quick glance at the contents page of the draft and then went to some of the sections he found to be interesting. It would seem that for now, the majority of the education the kids would receive would be in mathematics and literacy as well as the humanities (social studies) and of course, propaganda about Ainz and The Great Tomb of Nazarick.

"Umu, it is well made. Give my compliments to the three for their efforts." Ainz said as he signed the draft and handed it back to Albedo.

"Yes, Ainz-sama, as you wish!" Albedo said happily while taking back the huge stacks of paper. Though it was not her that Ainz was complimenting, she still felt joy at the fact that Ainz was pleased.

"Now then, Mare, how is the progress of the dungeon you're making?"

"Y-yes, Ainz-sama!" Mare answered back, nervously. "I've completed the sixth floor today which is the final floor of the intermediate level floor in the dungeon! J-just a little more time and I'll finish the last three floors, Ainz-sama, I p-promise!"

"Do not worry, Mare. Take your time in completing the dungeon. There is a saying, "haste makes waste". Make sure that the dungeon that you complete is one that you will be proud of instead of just a shabby and rushed dungeon which would reflect poorly on your reputation."

"""Oh!""" The floor guardians all exhaled in awe at both the amount of consideration he gave to Mare as well as the small fragment of wisdom he had shared with them. Demiurge went so far as to quickly pull out a small note book he kept in his suit's breast pocket and write down the phrase Ainz had said, hurriedly.

"Yes, Ainz-sama!" Mare replied energetically. His two heterochromatic eyes sparkled and he gave Ainz a deep look of appreciation.

"Good, then next is Demiurge. How goes it in Roble, the Holy Kingdom?"

"Yes, Ainz-sama. My plans are developing as suspected though at a much slower pace. It would seem that the Queen on Roble had only recently realized the attack pattern I was using to push the humans back from their villages.

The next step of the plan is to let the Queen command her troops to evacuate the villages and have them all gather at a single defensive stronghold city that is slightly to the east of their capital city. The spies that I had hidden in her castle has reported to me that they are already discussing seeking help from our kingdom as their requests for assistance to the Slane Theocracy were refused."

"Excellent, Demiurge, keep up the good work." To Ainz' compliment, Demiurge simply bowed his head.

"I do not deserve your commemoration, Ainz-sama. Had I better calculated the incompetency of the humans, then you would not have to wait any longer. Please accept my humblest apologies."

"Nonsense. It is not that you had made the mistake, is it not that the kingdom of Roble had made the mistake? Well, as long as you learn from this experience, there is nothing more I could hope for. When do you think we will hear from them?"

"I thank you more your mercy Ainz-sama." Demiurge said while bowing his head once again. "I expect them to make contact with us within the coming month."

"Very well, remember to not slip up and let them know we had anticipated their visit when they do finally come though. If we wish for them to see us as allies, we must play ignorance to their plight." Ainz said in a regal manner while addressing the guardians. [Uwah… that line was so cheesy, I hope they get the point though.]

"""Yes, Ainz-sama!"'" All four of the floor guardians replied.

"Umu. Now then, the final order of business for this morning. Cocytus, present your report."

"YES AINZ-SAMA." Cocytus replies then exhaled an icy cold breath before continuing. "THE DWARVES ARE VERY THANKFUL FOR THE ASSISTANCE YOU HAVE GIVEN THEM. THEY WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS THEIR GRATITUDE TO THE SUPREME ONE." Cocytus exhales again and then continues to report. "THEY HAVE ALSO REPORTED THAT THEY HAVE MADE A STRANGE DISCOVERY."

"Oh, a strange discovery, is it? Continue." Ainz said while taking a thoughtful pose.

"YES. THEY HAVE DISCOVERED A STRANGE TEMPLE DEEP WITHIN THE MINES." He exhales then continues. "IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR THEM TO INVESTIGATE AND HAVE ASKED ME TO SEE IF YOU WOULD BE INTERESTED IN INVESTIGATING. THEY FEAR THAT THE DARK AURA THAT THE TEMPLE EMITS WILL HARM THEM."

[ _Strange temple emitting a dark aura? What the heck is that?_ ] Ainz quarried in his mind before replying to Cocytus. "I see. After all the trouble we went through to establish friendly relations with them, it would be displeasing if they were just suddenly destroyed. Very well, I will personally investigate what is happening. Return to the dwarven kingdom and tell them that I will be coming, Cocytus."

[ _Though I say that, it's been insanely boring because all I've been doing recently is paperwork. I hope this will be interesting. Oh, I did want to investigate the weird abyss that the dwarves talked about the last time I visited! Maybe this will be my chance!_ ] Ainz thought to himself.

"I THANK YOU FOR YOUR MERCY AINZ-SAMA." Cocytus took a deep bow.

"And with that, this meeting is hereby adjourned. You may return to your duties."

"""Yes, Ainz-sama!""" The floor guardians replied while giving a bow one last time then taking their leave. Ainz sat in his chair a little longer to contemplate his next actions then called out to his personal attendant of the day.

"Third, contact Shalltear and let her know that she shall be my security for this outing. Tell her to fully armour up and to meet me here as soon as possible."

"At once, Ainz-sama." Third replied and then swiftly took her leave.

Ainz then leaned deeply against the back of his chair. He exhaled as if to get rid of his piled up stress though he had no lungs to exhale with. He brought his right hand and cupped his chin in a thinking pose.

[ _I wonder what I'll find down there. Really, this world is full of mysteries._ ]

There was no statement truer than that. What Ainz did not know was that fate can be a cruel and unyielding mistress. What he will find in those mines may very well usher in another age of chaos to ravage the world anew.


	2. March for the Future

**Author's Note**

Once again, I'd just like to take a moment to thank those who have taken an interest in this fanfic.

I really enjoy reading feedback so feel free to critique all you want.

Thanks to those who have encouraged me to keep writing and trust me, I will. This is going to be a long ride so sit tight!

~~~

Feo Berkana, the ancient capital city of the Dwarf Kingdom was bustling with life once again. The city was forsaken when the demon gods had invaded and most of the dwarf royalty had left to join the fight against them but it all seemed like a distant dream now. Surprisingly when the dwarves ventured back to their city, the state it was in was not as bad as they had thought it would be.

The majority of the furniture and the miscellaneous items the dwarves had left behind in the panic and confusion of the emergency evacuation of their great city had been left alone. Though, of course, the most valuable things were taken away by the quagoa for them to either eat or to offer the dragons that claimed the city's palace. It only took them a few short days to clean up the dust that had built up and also to fix the slightly damaged homes the quagoa had used for shelter.

The dwarves did not stop there however. As soon as they could spare the labour, the miners returned to their duty. Feo Berkana was not named the capital city because the Dwarven king just wished it to be, it was named so because of the vast resources the earth around the capital city held. The miners, on the very first day of returning to work, were reminded of this fact as soon as they started digging.

Cocytus was tasked with overseeing the whole operation to make sure it went smoothly. Ainz had given a few low level earth elementals and quagoa to the dwarves to help them get back to work. He hoped that they would provide added protection to the dwarves as well as improved productivity.

The added help had mixed reviews as expected. The earth elementals are now invaluable to the dwarves as they could not only dig up the dirt but also fortify the mines like the High Priest of Earth did. The elementals also had the ability to detect exactly where the mineral rich ore veins were which utterly shocked the dwarves.

The quagoa, however, were not taken in too happily. After all, the dwarves and the quagoa had been at war for time immemorial but Ainz had given them a decree. That decree stated that they both were now to be his loyal subjects and work together to build a better future for both their races. He wanted them to heal their racial divide but, as expected, it would take quite a while for that to happen.

The quagoa were treated as slaves, as truthfully, they were slaves after they had lost the battle against Aura and Shalltear and their population dwindled to a mere ten thousand. The majority of them had been sent to the sixth floor of Nazarick to be " _trained_ " by Aura and also to populate "Green Hole", the new township that Ainz had developed as an experiment.

A few dozen of the strongest quagoa had been sent to the dwarves to assist them with digging. Pe Riyuro, the once great king of the quagoa, had also been sent to supervise the other quagoa and make sure they stayed in line with the will of Ainz but after the war, no one would dare to earn the ire of the Supreme Being, lest they be completely annihilated.

This was Feo Berkana, the ancient capital city of the Dwarven Kingdom. But on this day, all was silent where usually it was rowdy. The reason was simple. A few days ago, the miners had stumbled upon an ominous discovery. The miners had been digging zealously, almost obsessively, because of all the riches their capital city had to offer when one day, they had realized perhaps they had dug too deep.

They learnt this too late. They dug deeper and deeper into the earth until suddenly, a cave-in occurred and an entire party of dwarves were lost. This was only discovered later when the party had failed to check out with the foreman that was stationed at the entrance to mine during closing time. A search party was sent in as soon as possible but what they found was not bodies, but a sudden drop-off from where the party of dwarves were supposed to be digging.

The search party peered over the edge of what was now revealed to be a giant cave and found that they had dug all the way down to a section of the abyss. The abyss covered the floor of the entire cave, blanketing it with was seemed to be completely black clouds that were impossible to see through, even with the dwarves' dark sight.

The black clouds gushed and undulated up and down like the waves of an ocean except at a much slower pace. What surprised the dwarves even more was that they could make out some kind temple within the darkness. It appeared that it was from this temple that all the black cloud originated as they were all flowing away from it like rolling waves.

Frightened and unable to make sense of it all, the search party ended their search and returned to the entrance of the mines. That particular part of the mines was sectioned off and sealed with a **Wall of Earth** from one of the earth elementals. The dwarves from the search party had informed the Regency Council and were told to keep the information to themselves should it cause mass hysteria among the population.

The Regency council knew that this was hardly a solution. It was merely a bandage for an open wound to try and slow the bleeding. It did not stop bleeding. The search party who had returned to their homes or to the local pub to unwind after the stressful day, had let all the details of the incident slip in their drunken stupor. Alcohol did little to staunch the despair of the scruffy bearded dwarves but as the saying goes, " _a problem shared is a problem halved_ ".

Not for this problem though. The rumours spread through the old city like wild fire. Some thought that monsters from within the abyss would crawl up and devour them all. Others thought it was a nest for an ancient demon god that would soon reawaken and seek to destroy the world once more. By the next day, after the incident, the entire city knew what had happened and demanded answers.  
However, the Regency Council did not have answers to give. The Master of Caves and Mines was at his wits end and wished that it was all but a sweet nightmare but reality was not so charitable. Before a full blown riot broke out, the Regency Council addressed the people and told them that they would inform Cocytus, who was assigned to oversee them, and ask for assistance.

The dwarves were quite literally stuck between a rock and a hard place as they jumbled ideas through their minds to resolve the situation. They could not think of any other recourse but to rely upon the might of that one dreaded fiend. All the machinations of the Sorcerer King utterly terrified the dwarves but choosing between an evil that they knew and an evil they did not know, it was an easy choice.

They contacted Cocytus, who was staying in one of the Royal Palace's guestrooms, and informed him of the situation. As luck would have it, the very next day was supposed to be when Cocytus reported upon the progress and situation to Ainz in their weekly conference. All the dwarves could hope for was the possibility that the great undead being would have mercy upon their souls and perhaps offer them help in the form of another one of his machinations.

Be careful of what you wish for, is what someone should have told the dwarves. Much to their surprise and horror, the next morning when Cocytus returned, he told the dwarves that his master would personally see to this matter. This shocked the dwarves even more. What could it have meant that the Sorcerer King was looking into this personally? Many speculated that this was proof it was a tomb of an ancient evil god while others guessed that the Sorcerer King was actually the culprit behind it all. After all, the Sorcerer King was said to be as cunning as he was wise and this may very well be a conspiracy against them.

That afternoon, the atmosphere felt like it had stagnated in the old city, as if the air ceased to flow and the life was sucked out of the city. You could cut the tension in the air as the people quietly waited for the arrival of their saviour, or perhaps, their demise. They crowded around the courtyard in front of the Royal Palace, waiting to be addressed.

~~~ **Scene Change** ~~~

Ainz had just finished his conversation with the Regency Council about the recent happenings within the Dwarven Kingdom. Mostly it was just simple small talk about the effectiveness of earth elementals as well as the progress in their recovery operations after retaking both of the lost dwarf cities. When Ainz addressed the main issue for today's visit, the eight dwarfs immediately kowtowed and begged Ainz to try and resolve it.

Ainz reassured and told them all that this was specifically the purpose of his visit. The incident had captured his intrigue and he wished to investigate personally as he was a collector of rare and exotic things and there was no telling what he may find down there, in the abyss. The dwarves also begged Ainz to address the people outside as the Regency Council had lost all control of them within these two short days in their mindless panic.

[ _Eh? Why me?!_ ] Ainz screamed internally. [ _Give me a break… Wouldn't me talking to them only scare them more?_ ] He thought to himself as he steadily made his way through the main foyer of the Royal Palace to the balcony where a pedestal stood that the late dwarven king used to address his people.

To his right was Shalltear, fully kitted out with a look on her face that said she would slaughter anyone that took a wrong step. On his left was Cocytus, calmly pacing slightly behind him to show respect. Ainz arrived at the pedestal and swallowed a sigh before it came out.  
[ _Why does this always happen to me? Hey! You, over there! Cabinet Secretary-kun, isn't this supposed to be your job? To address the people on behalf of the Regency Council? Do you job properly, okay?!_ ]

"Hear me! Denizens of this fair city, I understand that the last few days have been trying. They say when you stare into the abyss, it stares back up at you. What I wish to you remind you of is that you are our ally. For as long as you stand with us, the Sorcerer Kingdom, we will stand with you.

The future is not stationary so you must march towards it fearlessly and unapologetically. Since you have allied yourself with us, you have reclaimed two lost cities, rebuilt your falling economy and enjoyed luxuries that you thought unfeasible. Our friendship was just the start of your march to a brighter more prosperous future.

Our friendship means a lot to me and I assure you, for as long as I live, I will defend your kingdom as if it were my own! Fear is something you feel when you do not understand something and so I will shed light on the mysteries of the abyss and show you, there is nothing to fear should we stand together!" Ainz shouted then thrust his right hand into the air as a fist.

Cheers broke out within the crowd. They shouted praise for Ainz and the Sorcerer Kingdom as well as praise for their own achievements. Hats and helmets were thrown into the air as did their fists and shouts. Ainz turned to face behind him to the eight Regency Council members and gave them a slight nod then proceed to step off the pedestal and back into the Royal Palace's foyer.

The eight dwarves, representing the council, stood in place motionlessly for a while. They were baffled at how fast Ainz attained their people's confidence and faith. They stood in shock and awe at how quickly Ainz had turned himself from a hellish monster into the nation's hero. One among the council members whispered under his breath, "So this is the power of a true king..."

"Cocytus, guide us to the point of interest. I do not wish to waste anymore time here." Ainz spoke while walking steadily through the halls without even turning back to face Cocytus.

"YES. AINZ-SAMA." Cocytus responded while still brimming with excitement at how his master had inspired fealty among the people within the city with just a single speech. A miracle he could not hope to achieve himself. "PLEASE. FOLLOW. ME." He said while increasing his walking pace to over-take his master and guide his way.

Ainz made his way to the dwarven mines, follow closely behind Cocytus while being lavishly showered in praise by the locals. Ainz took a slight glance to his side to check up on Shalltear as previously she had looked like she was about to burst out and murder everyone in the city. He realized his mistake and quickly shifted his sight back.

What he had seen was Shalltear staring intently at him like a highschool girl in love with blushed cheeks and watery eyes. Her face looked like it was in the midst of melting from ecstasy. As she was in her armour and had her Spuit Lance, the whole scene looked almost comical in a terrifying way. Ainz could still feel Shalltear's stare on the back of his head that felt she was trying to drill a hole in his skull.

The trio made their way deep within the dwarven mines that were once sealed off but came unsealed with a well-placed swing from one of Cocytus' swords. It took about thirty minutes walking at a steady pace to finally reach the end of the mines they were in. It was a testament of just how skilled dwarves were at mining by digging this deep in such a short time frame from when they first arrived at the ancient city.

What they saw at the end of the tunnel was just as the dwarves had described, an enormous cave. The tunnel's end was positioned high up on the ceiling of the cave so looking down, it gave a view of the entire cave. It would seem that this cave was positioned right under the Feo Berkana and was so big that you could fit the entire city within this cave.

"So this is the cave, huh?" Ainz mused as he stepped closer to the edge of the tunnel.

"Please be careful, Ainz-sama, if you want to go down there then at least let me go down first!" Shalltear shouted while stepping very closely to Ainz.

"Perish the thought." Ainz replied. "So that's the strange temple you were talking about, right Cocytus?" He said while pointing in the distance towards the centre of the enormous cave.

"YES. AINZ-SAMA. THAT. TEMPLE. SEEMS. TO. BE. THE. SOURCE. OF. ALL. THIS. BLACK. MIST."

As Cocytus had pointed out, the entire floor of the cave was completely covered in this black mist and was flowing out from the centre of the cave, the temple. That was the most intriguing part of the entire mystery. Why would a huge temple that looked like it was made by giants just be standing there in the middle of this huge cave while emitting strange black mist? What was the purpose?

 **Create Low Tier Undead: Wraith** "Guard my body, I am going to use this wraith as a scout." Ainz said to the two floor guardians before casting another spell. **Undeath Slave Sight** This spell lets Ainz see through the eyes of one of his undead summons. Ainz usually used this spell to trigger teleportation traps and see where it lead or for scouting enemies while staying a safe distance away. The utility for this spell was great but if the summon was destroyed, the spell would immediately end as well.

Ainz commanded the wraith, with his mind, to fly into the cave while staying above the black mist and to head towards the temple in the middle to see what was happening there. The wraith drifted swiftly through the air and began to examine the temple from the bottom up.

The temple looked like an ancient Mayan-style temple that the extremely old civilization used to build to honour their pagan gods as well as being a place of worship and sacrifice. The wraith flew up the stairs of the temple while staying out of the reach of the black mist and headed for the top. When it arrived, Ainz could see that the top of the pyramid-like temple was completely flat at the top aside from the four massive obelisks that stood at each corner.

Ainz could see that at the very middle of the temple's top floor, a large, dimly shining object. This object was what was emitting all of this black mist. No matter how Ainz positioned the wraith, he could not make out exactly what this object was as the black mist was obstructing his sight. Even with his passive skill Dark Vision he could not see through the black mist so he decided to use another spell.

 **Strengthened Magic Vision**

"N-no… It can't be! How could you be here?!"


	3. Past Laments

**Author's Note**

Hey guys! I'm sorry about ending the last chapter in a cliffhanger but I hope that you will enjoy this chapter and say it was worth the wait!

Please let me know in, a review, if there's anything you're worried about or if I could somehow improve! Feedback is always welcome!

Anyway, here you go! Please enjoy! 

"N-no… It can't be! How could you be here?!"

What Ainz saw within the whirling mist was an enormous three meter tall crystal that shimmered slightly in a dim red glow. However, that was not what Ainz had exclaimed about. Sealed with that crystal was a person. A young man that looked to be in his early to mid twenties with long golden hair that was seemed to dangle upward in the air.

His face looks like he was the very image of hatred itself as his brow was crunched into a frown. His lips were opened to reveal two rows of jagged teeth with his canines that were so long, it protruded out from his mouth. His irises shined brightly in a deep shade of red and his pupils formed a "+" symbol with the ends tapered into a point. The sclera were completely black that emphasized the burning crimson irises. Red and blue veins ran out from the corners of his eyes.

He wore elaborate golden plate armour that was designed with silver decorative patterns at the edges of the armour that looked like symbols depicting a language of some sort. Instead of a helmet, he wore a platinum crown atop his head and a black fur collared, long dark blue mantle. He stood in a tall, proud stance with what seemed to be a strange golden spear in his left hand that was firmly pierced down into the pale, white stone that the temple was made out of.

Underneath his feet was an extremely complicated magical circle that glowed red, the likes of which Ainz had never seen before. Given Ainz' extensive magical knowledge from his time in Yggdrasil and the thousands upon thousands of times he had see magical formations appear when casting certain spells, it was strange that he could not recognize even a single symbol within the magical circle.

"It's not possible… right? Just how did this even happen to you? Why are you here?!" Ainz' mind was swarmed with dark thoughts and the automatic emotion suppression did little to stop it. "Don't worry, I'm coming to get you right now." He said, though he could not hope for a response as the person he was talking to was stuck within a crystal.

"Is something wrong, Ainz-sama?" Shalltear said as she saw Ainz acting strangely and mumbling to himself. She did not receive a reply however as Ainz was shaking in fury. He had unintentionally activated his **[Despair Aura V]** which weighed heavily on the floor guardians.

"A-Ainz-sama! P-Please calm down!" Shalltear stuttered to say. She had never seen her master boiling with such anger before that it frightened her to the core. A fearsome floor guardian that is recognized to be one of Nazarick's finest fighters trembled at the mere sight of Ainz.

"AINZ-SAMA…" Cocytus was not any different. He too is said to be one of the strongest offensive floor guardians and yet he was shaking in fear, unwilling to approach his master who was still glaring at the temple as if madness had taken over him. Before the floor guardians could say anything else, Ainz cast **[Fly]** on himself and shot off in the direction of the temple.

"Ah! Ainz-sama, please wait, it's dangerous to go alone!" Shalltear shouted at the top of her lungs but Ainz was already well on his way towards the temple. "Cocytus, let's go!" She said to him while growing two large bat-like wings of her back and flew towards her master.

"R-RIGHT!" Cocytus shouted in affirmation and summoned a necklace that had a charm shaped like a single white, feathered wing and threw it around his neck to pursue after the two who had already taken off.

Ainz, consumed by his anger, failed to properly control the wraith he had summoned and it drifted into the black mist. As soon as it did, the summon was instantly destroyed and vanished into nothingness but Ainz could not have cared less about it as currently, he was preoccupied with something he found to be of far greater importance.

He flew into the black mist that surrounded the crystal without hesitation and as soon as his body made contact with it, he could feel that mist burned like it was fire as opposed to cold as you would normally expect. Pain surged through his body but he soldiered on as it was only a few meters now until he finally reached the crystal.

Ainz could feel his grip on his false life loosening and falling into a critical state. The surging black mist that completely surrounded him was pushing him back away from crystal as if he was wading through a river against the flow. He persisted, one heavy step at a time, and finally reached his goal.

He placed his hand on the crystal and now he could finally see with his own eyes, the young man he done all this for. Had he a face, undoubtedly it would have been rained tears of pure happiness.

"I wish!" He shouted at the top of his lungs (if he had them), and a ring on his hand began to shine. An enormous shining, light-blue magical circle formed underneath him. He activated the spell **[Wish Upon A Star]**. "Release him from this crystal!" Ainz willed the crystal to shatter and his wish was fulfilled.

With a cracking noise, as if someone had smashed a hundred porcelain plates at the same time, the crystal burst apart in tiny fragments and releasing the blonde man. The man who was now freed, lost his grip of the golden spear we was holding, closed his eyes and began to fall forward.

Before he could land face-first into the cold, hard stone below, Ainz embraced him in his arms. The black mist was still swirling around them as powerful as ever but Ainz found his strength leaving his body. "So this is how it ends, huh? Well, if I had to choose who I died with, you wouldn't be a bad choice, hahaha…Maybe…this is karma…" The lights within Ainz' eye sockets dimmed into nothingness. "I'm sorry… for being a coward…"

The last thing Ainz could hear before his mind vanished into the blackness was a solitary scream within the surging mists.

 **~~~  
**  
It was just another day in Yggdrasil. As any other day, the clan infamously known as "Nine's Own Goal" was meeting at their clan base. Aside from the few pieces of furniture such as couches, chairs and a coffee table within the vast clan base, there was not much else. The walls of the base were completely bare and without decoration. They looked to be made of concrete but that was only the default texture setting for clan bases. **  
**

They entire place gave off an empty and drab feeling but there was reason for that. Aside from the very basics of necessities, the clan did not want to commit too much effort or funds into the base as they knew it only served as a place for all of them to meet up with one another. Thus the only things they placed with the singular room were a couple chairs and couches for them to sit on.

There were many creatures within this room, some lazily sitting on the couches and chairs. They were all vastly different from one another, not only in size but also shape. There was a horrendously ugly creature that had a face similar to that of an insect with four beady, little red eyes stretching across it. He was happily chatting to a person fully garbed in clothes that would you expect a ninja to be wearing.

Across from them on a separate couch, a large hairy ape-like being was chatting to what seemed to be a massive golem that had plant vines running all along his body that looked almost like veins. They were discussing whether or not the two of them should go scouting for new hunting grounds for data crystals to upgrade their weapons.

Beside them, on separate chairs, sat a dark, brown-skinned ogre who's canines on his lower jaw was protruding out from his mouth and a ethereal, phantom-like person with horrible disfigurations all over his face and body. Beside them sat a skeleton that wore a tattered, red robe. The three were casually chatting to each other about what would be happening today.

"So Momonga-san, how is the new robe that you're making coming along?" The phantom man asked the robed skeleton.

"Well, I have all the necessary data crystals for it and most of the materials needed to make it but the material that I'm struggling to find is the Elder Treant Bark Fabric. I can't find it anywhere in the shops or the auction house, hah…If push comes to shove, I might have to join a public raid and hope that it drops so that I can bid for it." Momonga replied to the phantom man.

"I'll try and ask around a couple craftsmen that I know to see if any of them has seen it floating about." The dark skinned ogre said to Momonga.

"No, no, I can't possibly ask you to do that much for me, Amano-san!" Momonga answered back while furiously waving his hands in front of him. A warily smiling emoticon popped up beside his skull.

"Haha," Amanomahitotsu chuckled at his flustered friend. "Of course you can! We're clan-mates aren't we, Momonga-san? Besides, I'm not doing it for free. In exchange for me finding the last material you need, you have to let me craft that robe for you. I've been trying to level up my tailoring skill and that robe of yours sounds like delicious experience for me!"

"Really, thank you very much, Amano-san." Momonga replied shyly.  
"Don't worry about it, Momonga-san, what are friends for." The ogre said with a smiling emoticon.

"So what do you guys think Touch-san called this clan meeting for anyway?" The phantom man asked.

"Maybe it's to talk about what happened yesterday, Wish-san." As soon as Momonga uttered those words, a shadow cast over all three of their faces. Yesterday had been a disaster. The clan had all come together to hunt an incredibly valuable raid boss, the Celestial Lion Turtle.

The Celestial Lion Turtle looked like a massive, three hundred meter long turtle that had the head and limbs of a lion. The height of the raid boss was around two hundred meters and has a miniature forest growing from atop its shell. It swam around in the Endless Sea of Midgard and if viewed from a distance, it is said to look exactly like just a small island in the middle of the sea.

What Nine's Own Goal was aiming for when challenging it was the fruit from the largest tree that grew on the turtle's shell. The Fruit of Knowledge. It looked like a golden apple and if it is eaten by a player, it permanently increases their wisdom stat enormously and reveals new areas and bosses to them. It could also be used as a weapon upgrade material and add a huge mana regeneration buff to the weapon as well as a casting-time reduction buff.

The value of the Fruit of Knowledge was enormous and would have all the biggest guilds vying for it if it ever went on the auction house. The crafting material the Celestial Lion Turtle dropped was also incredibly valuable as the shards from the turtle's shell could be substituted in weapon and armour recipes in the place of high tier prismatic ore which could only be mined from certain mines.

They had all tried their hardest to best the raid boss and they managed to get it down to fifty-percent HP and make it enter its dangerous second phase when they were ambushed. Thirty or so random players from various guilds and clans appeared so Nine's Own Goal had to split their damage between the raid boss and the attackers, which meant that it was now impossible to kill the boss.

They held on for as long as they could but their defeat was inevitable. The arrogance and cockiness of the attackers upset the clan greatly as they suffered a humiliating defeat under mocks and jeers. It would seem that the attackers had been scouting the clan for quite some time and attacked during the raid boss fight as it was a golden opportunity for them to assure victory.

The attackers attacked them out of revenge for a past transgression where one of the clan members of Nine's Own Goal had attacked and killed many of them on separate occasions. The clan member whom they referred to swore that he would never forgive them for their cowardly attack and would killed them again should the opportunity arise before he died. Many of the clan members had lost valuable gear from that failed expedition and now had to rebuild lost weapons and armour.

All in all, the three agreed that yesterday was indeed, a bad day. It was the first time the clan had lost so decisively and to a ragtag group of nobodies no less. It wounded the clan's pride and enthusiasm greatly, not to mention the financial losses. The three sighed in unison upon recounting the events. Wish III gazed to the opposite side of the clan base and looked at their clan leader, Touch Me, who had been pacing back and forth in the same spot for the entire time.

"Hey guys, you think Touch-san's alright?" He asked the other two.

"Well, he is the clan leader after all and the person who had organized yesterday's raid. He must be taking the loss really hard." Momonga replied with the sad emoticon.  
"It wasn't his fault that we lost but I can sympathize with him. He is taking the loss really hard, isn't he?" Amano remarked as well with a worried emoticon.

It was then that the clan base's door swung open and someone else walked into the room. He was a young man with pale-white skin, blonde hair and golden eyes. "Sorry for being late for the meeting gentlemen. I had some vengeance to unleash upon the vermin that was foolish enough to sully our great name." He said while walking in and raising a emoticon depicting a face with a malicious smile.

The clan members who were present raised smiling emoticons and raised their hands to greet him, all except one. Touch Me, the clan's leader stopped pacing around and turned to look at the new arrival.

"Thank you for coming. Have a seat and we'll start the clan meeting." Touch Me said while gesturing to an empty chair and taking a seat himself. The blonde man scoffed quietly towards Touch Me and took his seat besides the being that looked like a bipedal goat who wore a flamboyant suit and cap. They both raised winking emoticons to one another as a form of greeting.

"Now then," Touch Me said to start the meeting as he leaned forward in his chair and clasps both his hands together in front of his face. "I'm sure many of you have already guessed the subject of today's meeting but I'll say it anyway. Today's meeting is about what happened yesterday." He said in a heavy voice which made everyone in the room realize that it was going to be a very serious talk.

"Yesterday we suffered a defeat during a raid that I organized and for that, I would like to apologize." Touch Me said while bowing his head slightly to everyone in the room.

"Don't worry about it, captain! We all knew the risks and it's not like we can always win, right? Don't beat yourself over it, Touchii!" The Nephilim in samurai-style gear said.

"Yeah, it's not your fault, Touch-san." Others within the clan also raised their voice in support for their clan leader.

"Thank you, everyone. There is also something else I want to talk about though…" Touch Me's voice grew heavier at the end of his sentence. Everyone within the room waited with baited breath for Touch Me to continue as they could feel how serious he was being.

"We all know that this is not the first time we have been attacked while challenging a raid boss or have been ambushed while farming materials. It is nothing new. However, these attacks have been increasing recently. You may not know but I've also been getting many messages and complaints from various clans and guilds."

"What are you trying to say, you big softy." The blonde man said in a nonchalant manner to Touch Me.

"All these things have something in common. They all originate from a single person." Touch Me continued as he shifted is line of sight to the blonde man. "You."

"""Eh?""" Many within the room, many of the people there raised surprised voices. Some out of shock and others out of utter confusion however the blonde man merely shifted his gaze to meet Touch Me's. Silence engulfed the entire room for a while the two stared at one another. Undoubtedly, if they could have made facial expressions, both of them would be glaring at one another.

"Hmph, I see, so that is what you're insinuating." The blonde man finally said to break the silence. "You're saying I'm a danger to the clan."

"That's right." Touch Me replied as soon as the man finished his sentence.

"Isn't that we stand for?" The man replied as fast as Touch Me had. "Doing what we want, when we want and letting no one stand in our way. Is that not our raison d'être?"

"That doesn't mean we should go around making everyone into enemies."

"And you think I'm foolish enough to do that? Have you forgotten, dear leader? The entire world hates us and ridicules us by calling us fools. Some simply look down upon us because of our races or because we follow our own creed while ignoring everything else." The blonde man spoke in a mocking tone while standing and slowly pacing towards Touch Me.

"That's not an excuse to go around attacking everyone you see." Touch Me confidently said while also standing and steadily making his way to the blonde man. "If we did that then we would be no different from the humanoids that attack heteromorphs on-sight."

"You do us no justice, mister hero." The man snickered. "Don't compare me to those rodents." The blonde man said in a dark voice while leaning into Touch Me's face as they were now only an inch from each other.

At this point, everyone in the room was stunned. Some weren't sure about what to say while others were completely dominated by the atmosphere between Touch Me and the man and did not want to get involved. Everyone knew that those two had a rough relationship at best and at worst, they would be at each other's throats quite literally. This would not be the first time they have crossed blades and fought to the death over their opposing ideologies but for some reason, today felt different.  
"You…How can you treat people like that? Like they were insects." Not backing down, Touch Me also inched closer to the blonde man's face.

"I am so sincerely sick of your high-and-mighty attitude. How can one man be so naïve? Everyone picks a side in this world, you are no except to this rule even though I know how you loath to admit it. Whichever side they choose to be on, I shall treat them accordingly."

"The world is not so simple!" Touch Me refuted.

"Oh but it is! It is only people like you who complicate it!" The blonde man responded while shouting back.

"As a person, when you see someone in need and have the power to help them, why would you not help them?!" Touch Me shouted back.

" **BECAUSE NOT EVERYONE IS WORTH SAVING**!" The man shouted in the loudest voice he could muster. He and Touch Me continued to glare each other as if to stare one another to death. They both heaved for air after their shouting.

Silence descended upon the room once again with the only noise being the pair's ragged breathing. Everyone else were totally silent and did not dare to utter a single word as they had never such an intense fight between the two before. Time passed slowly and the two finally had their breathing in order.

"I want to hold a vote." Touch Me finally uttered to shatter the deafening silence. "I vote that we kick him from the clan and discontinue any further involvement between each other. I will not meddle in your life and I ask that you also do not meddle in ours." This statement shock the room. It even took the blonde man by surprise and he flinched slightly and leaned backwards slightly.

The room was once again plunged into silence. "Those of you who disagree, raise your objections now or you never will get to again." Touch Me said in a quiet but stern voice while the two continued to stare directly into each other's eyes. The people within the room looked around at each other as if asking what they should do. Momonga tried to raise his voice to speak but the words didn't come out so he ended up just swallowing his breath.

The room remained silent.

"Ah, I see." The blonde man finally spoke after waiting an adequate amount of time for someone, anyone to stand in his defence but none did. "So that's how it is…heh." He scoffed with a self-mocking smile. "Really, what did I expect?" He asked himself.

Towards the back of the room, the World-Disaster was shakily raising his right hand slowly but just like Momonga, he was choking on his words and only empty noises came out of his mouth. No one even noticed he was moving.

The young man then swiftly opened his console and hit the log out option on his screen. The confirmation window opened up when he said, "I'm such an idiot…" in a voice so quiet that even Touch Me, who was inches away from his face, could barely make out the words. He pressed "yes" to confirm his log out.

This moment had haunted Momonga ever since. 

Ainz was surrounded by nothing but darkness. It felt like he was floating in completely black water as he drifted to and fro. [How long have I been here?] He wondered to himself but it was impossible to tell time in this world of nothing. He completely let himself go and let the darkness take him where ever it wanted him to be.  
Wholly surrendering himself to this darkness was serene. It was bliss. Since coming to the mysterious new world in the body of his avatar, Suzuki Satoru had never been able to enjoy the sweet release of sleep but he was. It was mysterious but he indulged in it.

This did not last long though, as he began to hear the soft sobbing of a woman far off in the distance of the completely dark world, then he saw a slight twinkle of light. The small spark grew larger and larger until it consumed him entirely and the world of nothing vanished and now the light that surrounded him was blindingly bright. Fate was not done with Ainz Ooal Gown just yet.

He felt a jolt run through his body, from his toes to his head. He sprung up his upper body. When he looked around, he found himself sitting up on his bed inside of Nazarick, surrounded by the floor guardians and various other NPC's. To his right, he saw the face of Albedo.

Her face was completely covered in tears and mucus. Her eyes were bloodshot as if she had been crying for a whole day. She had a look on her face that was as if she was staring at a ghost with her mouth agape. The very next moment, her face light up and she dived into Ainz' bed. She wrapped her arms around Ainz' neck and shouted in a cracking voice.

"Awwnsss-shamaaaaa!"


	4. A New Dawn

**Author's Note**

Once again, thanks for sticking with me and this story!

I hope that all of you are enjoying it so far!

I understand there are people out there who really hate OCs and I can sympathize but I think, if done correctly, OCs can add a lot to a story. What I envision for this OC is a person who actively contradicts the ideals of Ainz and is not afraid to put his own opinion forward instead of just being a mindless "yes-man". Hopefully, this will keep him interesting enough so I don't have to kill him off.

Please leave reviews or send me a PM to let me know how you like the story and if you have any concerns about it!

Enjoy!  
 **...**

Albedo wrapped herself around Ainz and buried her head into his chest (ribs). She sobbed loudly like a newborn baby and continued to scream his name with a lisp.

"Ainsh-shamaaa!" She wailed while rubbing her face against his bones. She was not the only one who was crying. Aura and Mare were hugging each other and cried in unison. Demiurge took off his glasses and wiped the corners of his eyes while whispering to himself, "Thank goodness".

Ainz was finally able to collect his thoughts and slowly move his arms to embrace Albedo's shivering body. "I am sorry for worrying you all. It's alright now. I'm not going anywhere." He whispered softly into her ear. He continued to comfort her until her sobbed finally ceased.

"I-I apologize, Ainz-sama!" Albedo said as she finally left Ainz' embrace and took a proper posture beside the bed with the other guardians. "Ah! I've dirtied your robe! Please allow me to clean it up, Ainz-sama!" She said when she saw that her tears had stained Ainz' clothing. She leaned in with a cloth in her hand, that she summoned out of her inventory, and tried to wipe his robe but before her could, Ainz held out his hand, indicating to her that she should stop.

"It is fine, Albedo." Ainz' said while correcting his position in his bed so that he could address everyone present. "First of all, I would like to apologize for acting rashly and causing you to all worry." He said while nodding his head down lightly.

"Ainz-sama, if I may." Demiurge said while stepping closer to the bed. "The fault of allowing harm to come to you should fall upon those who were assigned to assure your safety." He said coldly while looking off into a corner of the room. "Shalltear, Cocytus. Present yourselves before Ainz-sama."

The two floor guardians had been standing in the corner of the room the entire time and had shrunken their bodies as if to hide. The atmosphere within the room had turned chilly and everyone present had shifted their gazes to the two and sent them disapproving looks. Albedo, on the contrary, was boiling with fury and looked as if she was about to rip the two into shreds.

The two quickly paced towards the side of the bed and immediately genuflected. ""We Apolo-"" they both began to say but was cut off by Demiurge. "Silence! You will speak only when you are addressed." He shouted at them while activating his **[Domination Mantra]** unconsciously. Of course the magic did not work against the two high-level floor guardians but it may as well have because they both immediately closed their mouths.

"Shalltear!" Albedo said slowly while shaking in anger. "Not once but twice you have caused Ainz-sama to be harmed! You failure of a servant, who can you possibly redeem yourself!?" She screamed in a high pitched voice, having lost all control of herself.

"I-I'm so sorry!" Shalltear said in a tearful voice while burying her head further into the floor of the bedroom. "I-if my insignificant life can-"

" **Enough!** " Ainz shouted. Everyone within the room immediately closed their mouths and looked to Ainz. "I have already said that it was my own fault for getting injured. Stand Shalltear, Cocytus." He said, shifting his gaze to the opposite side of the bed where they were still bowing their heads. The two stood up but kept their heads bowed as low as possible and did not make eye contact with Ainz.

"I absolve you two of all responsibility. Let everyone here bear witness to this." Ainz said while looking around the view. Everyone he made eye contact with, nodded their heads lightly in acceptance. "I will not allow anyone to question this further."

""Ainz-sama…"" The two disgraced floor guardians said in a hushed voice. Shalltear's face crumbled and tears began to run down from her eyes as she sobbed quietly. Cocytus simply kept his head bowed and whispered in a shaky voice, "I. AM. UNWORTHY…"

"Now then, how long have I been resting?" Ainz questioned.

"It has been an entire day, Ainz-sama." Demiurge replied. "If I may be so bold, may I ask who that person was whom you saved." A shock ran through Ainz' body as he finally recounted what had happened before he lost consciousness.

"Where is he?!" Ainz shouted while jolted forward in his sitting position as drawing closer to Demiurge.

"H-he said that he had a task he had to see to no matter what as soon as he awoke. He regained his consciousness just before Shalltear and Cocytus entered a gate to Nazarick so that they could see to your treatment. As they were in a rush to return your body for healing, they simply left the man to his vices, Ainz-sama." Demiurge replied while being surprised by the sudden shout from Ainz. "If he has caused you any displeasure, Ainz-sama, rest assured this unworthy servant shall not rest until he is found and duly punished!"

"""Yeah, that's right!""" Various other NPCs within the room also raised their voices in affirmation. Ainz slouched back in bed and let out an audible sigh. After a short pause, Ainz finally began to speak again.

"No, that will not be necessary." He said with a sigh. "No… If anything, perhaps I am the one who is due to be punished." A wave of sadness washed over him which activated his automatic emotion suppression. Albedo, worried for her master after he had turned quiet, leaned in closer to him, tilted her head slightly to the side.

"Ainz-sama? Is something the matter?" She asked with pleading eyes that looked like they were more suited for a pet dog than a succubus.

"No, it is nothing. Now then, as for who Demiurge was asking about, he is an old friend." Ainz announced. Aura, Mare and Shalltear tilted their heads and started looking around at the other floor guardians to see if anyone understood what Ainz had meant. The more astute floor guardians gasped as soon as the words came out of his mouth.

"No…I should say he used to be my friend. That is, until I betrayed him." The two red flames in Ainz' eye sockets dimmed slightly as he said those words. [ _That's right… I betrayed him. Even after all that we had been through and I couldn't even stand up for in his time of need. What sort of friend am I?_ ]

"Um, Ainz-sama, I do not understand. Could you please elaborate so that this foolish servant can understand?" Albedo asked on behalf of the other guardians. Ainz took a moment to line up his thoughts. He hated the fact that his passive suppressed the majority of his emotions except loneliness as it was always the emotion that caused him the most pain.

"Very well. Listen carefully as I only wish to tell this tale once." Ainz announced to the floor guardians. They all approached the bed and leaned in to listen intently to what their master was about to tell them. "A long time ago, even before the founding of the guild, there existed a clan. That clan was named "Nine's Own Goal". It was named after the fact that there were originally only nine founding members and their goal was to do what they wanted, when they wanted.

That clan was the precursor to this guild. My name even came from the original name of the clan. I was one of the founding members alongside Touch Me, Nishikienrai, Warrior Takemikazuchi, Wish III, Ancient One, Flatfoot and Amanomahitotsu. All of whom you know."

Ainz paused their and took a breath (if he had lungs)."Ainz-sama, excuse me for interrupting but that makes only eight members." Demiurge queried.

"That is correct, Demiurge." Ainz continued. "An incident occurred and the last original member of the clan ended up leaving. He was one of only four vampires that ever managed to ascend and become a crusnik. His name is Eukleides Vileblood and I betrayed him."

 **...**

He awoke from his slumber to the noise of voices shouting. He could feel the hard and cold texture of the earth that he was laying on top of. Where he was or what time it was, he did not know. He did not recognize the voices that were booming around him either.

Alarm bells rang out in his mind as his instincts told him to stand up and observe what was happening around him so that he could determine what to do. Thus he willed his eyes to open from under their heavy eyelids. As he looked around he saw that he was in some kind of tunnel. Observing the dirt closer told him that this tunnel had only recently been dug out as he could see all the freshly over turned earth.

He hoisted his fatigued body off the ground and began to stand. While he did so, he looked his body over and confirmed that he was still wearing him armour and that he was unhurt. The voices that were shouting at each other were now silent and as he lifted his head up to see what was in front of him, he realized why.

A pale, young girl wearing red full plate armour and a tall, bipedal, light-blue insect were now staring at him. He reasoned that they were probably the voices he was hearing. He saw that in the many arms of the light-blue insect was someone clothed entirely in an elaborate black robe. As that person was facing away from him, he could not see who was under that robe.

As they froze in place and were now staring at him blankly, he decided to strike up conservation. "And?" He snickered, regaining his regal manner of acting. "Who might you be?" At this point, the haze in his mind had almost completely cleared and he was confident that he could fight should it be necessary.

"SHALLTEAR. WE. DO. NOT. HAVE. TIME. TO. BE. FOOLING. AROUND." The light-blue insect said to the young girl while exhaling a frosty breath.

"I-I know but are you sure we can just leave him here? I mean, Ainz-sama went through all that trouble to get him." The young girl replied.

"MEANINGLESS. WE. MUST. RETURN. AINZ-SAMA. TO NAZARICK. IMMIDIATELY."

"Argh! Alright, fine! **[Gate]** " The young girl replied while opening a large, obsidian portal.

[ _Ainz-sama? Ah, must be that robed person._ ] He thought to himself. It was then that he realized he did not have his weapon with him. He searched his memory for the last time he had seen it.

"Hey!" The young girl called out to him. Her companions had already stepped through the portal she had created. "I can just leave you here, right?"

"It is fine. I have something important I need to attend to." He replied and the next instant, the young girl leaped into the portal. It closed when she was completely through it. He was now all alone but he was far from calm. Where was he and where was his weapon?

He looked around and behind him, he could see that the tunnel he was in just suddenly ended. When he peered over the edge of the tunnel, he saw a massive cave. It was then that he remembered where his weapon was. It was in the distance, on the temple he was once sealed on. He had to retrieve it as soon as possible. [ _Before it destroys the world._ ]

Black blood oozed out from his back where his shoulder blades would be located and it formed what looked like two bare branches from a tree, stretching out like wings. He leaned forward slightly and leaped off in the direction of the temple. He travelled at a speed which was unimaginable for an average human and reached the temple in an instant.

He hovered above the temple, out of the reach of the black clouds and stretched out his left arm to where his golden short-spear would be located. He activated the skill **[Recall Weapon]** from among his Blademancer skills which would immediately make any weapon he had summoned appear before him. The moment he had used the spell, his golden short-spear appeared in the palm of his out-stretched left arm in a shower of gold sparks.

The head of the spear was spinning rapidly. Purple lighting and black mist were flying out from it in the direction the spearhead was pointed. **[Deactivate]** He said to the spear and the spinning of the spearhead slowed to a halt and the purple lighting and black mist dissipated into nothingness. The black mist also vanished from the cave and was replaced with what looked like transparent, pale blue and green sparkling water.

Having diverted a disaster that would have been catastrophic, he was finally calm and looked silently at the temple below him. It looked like a pyramid with a flat top. At the top, four obelisks stood at each corner. Anyone who laid their eyes on it would have guessed that it was a ritual altar and they would have been correct. This temple was used to amplify soul magic to the point it could rip people from other worlds and bring them to this one.

It was an accursed structure to him. He had wished he was never summoned to this world in the first place. "Worthless pile of stones." He cursed out loud. He summoned a silver spear to his right hand and readied a throwing position. He activated **[Champion's Javelin]** and with a, "Hmph!" he hurled the silver spear down at the temple.

The spear travelled so fast through the air that if a normal person had seen it, it would have only looked like a line of silver light coming out of his hand. The silver spear ripped through the first few storeys of the temple then an enormous explosion occurred within and an enormous ball of flame erupted. It tore the temple to pieces and sent fragments flying in every direction.

The explosion echoed all throughout the cave and shook every inch of it. All that was left of the temple were the broken pieces of it scattered around the cave and the giant crater that had appeared where it once stood. The sparkling pale-blue and green water continued to flow slowly to every corner of the cave as if it was completely unaffected by the attack.

The roof of the cave started to crumble shortly after. Bits and pieces of dirt became loose and fell towards the floor. It was only small pieces here and there at first, but then larger and larger pieces of earth became loose and fell until entire boulders began to rain down from the ceiling. But he was calm and his mind was clear even when the entire cave was collapsing around. He had finally been freed from the crystal and he knew what he had to do.

"Monrilia Zenlusryll… I promised you, didn't I? That if I was ever freed from that time prison you placed me in, I would make you wish that you had never summoned me to this world in the first place." He said to himself as he reached into his inventory and pulled out a scroll. He activated the **[Greater Teleportation]** scroll and instantly vanished in a burst of white light. The next moment, the entire ceiling finally caved in which would erase the existence of the cave from the world.

 **...**

That day, the entire Azerlisia mountains range shook. Mudslides and avalanches occurred all across the mountains. A high magnitude earthquake shook the ground and could be felt all the way to the capital city of Re-Estize. Earthquakes were so irregular that many people had never felt an earthquake before in their entire lives and simply wept in place or held their loved ones as they waited for death. They thought the entire world was collapsing and perhaps they weren't wrong.

The Earthen Pulse was finally cleansed from the Mists of Creation and had been restored to its former glory. The soul streams, once again, ran all throughout the entire continent, spreading its purified raw mana across the lands. The dragons could innately feel the sudden change in the atmosphere as they could use wild magic which tapped into the power of souls to conjure magic but they were not the only ones who could feel a change in the air.

The darkness that had long been sealed away from the world's light finally started to rise again. One at a time, they awoke from their slumber and prisons. They were scattered all throughout the continent but they all had a singular desire. Vengeance upon those who had sealed them away.

Eukleides Vileblood stared down at the world below him. He was hovering at ten kilometres above sea level, well past the reach of clouds. The world he saw below him was completely different from the world that he knew before he was sealed. He had cast **[Eagle Eyes]** to enhance his vision so that even while being so high up in the air, he could still make out the shape of individual people running about on the ground amid the chaos and mayhem the earthquake had caused.

"This is the world that I saved with my own power all that time ago. In exchange for saving it, I get sealed in a time prison, huh?" He chuckled to himself. "That's wrong, isn't it Hesirard-kun? You tried to conquer the world and failed. I saved it so… **doesn't that mean the world belongs to me now?** " Eukleides wore a fiendish smile as he uttered those words.

The night was still dark as the stars shined in the sky but the first few rays of sunlight began to peek over the horizon. The dawn to a new day. The day an ancient evil was unleashed upon the world.


	5. Hounds' Buffet

**Author's Note  
**  
Hello again! Thanks for taking the time and reading my work.

I realize that this chapter took much longer to come out than previous chapters but I wasn't happy with it and had to rewrite it many times. Before I knew it, I had written so much that it didn't feel right to just end it in the middle of what was happening so I ending up writing more! And now it turned into this! Crazy, huh?

Anyway, what I wanted to ask you guys is if you wanted long chapters like this that comes out every new few days or would you prefer shorter chapters that come out every day (mostly). I'd be really interested to know so please tell me!

I'm also looking for a proof-reader/editor to help me out as I'm just too busy planning and writing new chapters to go back and edit. If you're interested, please drop me a PM and I'll reply back ASAP!

 **GORE WARNING!** Do not eat while reading this chapter!

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Also, can someone tell me how I can change the rating for this story from M to MA so that I don't get banned or something. Would be much appreciated!

Anyway, enjoy!

…

"Then, please excuse us, Ainz-sama." Albedo said as she and the other floor guardians left the room while bowing their heads. She closed the door behind her as she left and turned to Demiurge was still standing behind her.

"I propose that we have a private meeting immediately." He said to the floor guardians.

"Yes, I agree." Albedo said in acknowledgement. The sight of Albedo and Demiurge agreeing on an issue was unusual as they both would try to one-up each other to appeal their worth to Ainz but right now, they had something far more important to discuss than their individual pride. The other floor guardians also raised voices of agreement and they all began walking.

They walked to an empty room on the ninth floor of The Great Tomb of Nazarick. The room was very simply furnished as it only had a long table and chairs surrounding it. Candle stands stood at the corners of the room and were the only sources of light within the room aside from the small chandelier that hung on the ceiling above the table.

They had used this room before for other meetings and discussions. They would usually sit with one another in this room to discuss the words and actions of the forty one supreme beings they worshiped on their days off. The six floor guardians took their seats around the table.

"Now then, the reason I called this meeting should be plainly obvious." Demiurge addressed the others. "I wish to discuss what we should do about this Eukleides Vileblood person." The others nodded their heads solemnly. "Firstly, let us hear everyone's opinions on the matter before we discuss what to do. Albedo, would you please be first?"

"Very well," She replied. "I think that he is undoubtedly a danger to Ainz-sama. Ainz-sama told us that he betrayed this Eukleides person in the past. It would not be strange for him to hold a grudge and seek vengeance upon Ainz-sama. I think we should dispose of this threat as soon as possible." Albedo said while making a menacing face. She could not accept the fact that someone posed a threat to her master as she was tasked with his protection as a guardian.

"I see," Demiurge nodded as he knew Albedo would say something along those lines. "Then next will be Aura. Please let us hear your opinion."

"Alright." Aura nodded. "Well I do sort of agree with Albedo but…That guy used to be Ainz-sama's friend right? Don't think that if Ainz-sama just apologizes, he'll forgive him?"

"Aura…" Albedo spoke in a chilly voice. "You want Ainz-sama to bow his head to someone else? That's blasphemy!" She shouted at the young dark elf that shrunk back in her seat.

"Now now, Albedo." Demiurge said while pushing up his glasses with his finger. "It is important that we hear the honest and unreserved opinions of everyone so that we may formulate a plan we can all agree with."

"Hmph, fine." She replied while sitting back in her seat and crossing her arms in a disapproving manner.

"Then, Mare, if you would."

"I-I agree with onee-san…" He stuttered while hiding his face behind his staff in fear that he would get yelled at like his sister.

"Come now, Mare. There is nothing to fear. Please share your honest thoughts with us." Demiurge reassured Mare. Mare slowly lowered his staff in response and began to speak in a shaky voice, once again.

"W-well, um…uh… I-I think that if Ainz-sama had a f-friend then he would be happier, right? Maybe Eukleides is a nice person…"

"Thank you, Mare. Cocytus, you and Shalltear were the ones to actually meet him so I am very curious to hear your opinions on this matter." Demiurge said while turning his gave to the giant insectoid. "If you would."

"WE. ONLY. MET. HIM. FOR. AN. INSTANT. BEFORE. WE. RETURNED. TO. GIVE. AINZ-SAMA. TREATMENT." He said as a gust of cold mist escaped his mandibles. "I. THINK. WE. SHOULD. PRIORITIZE. AINZ-SAMA'S. SAFETY. AND. ELEMINATE. HIM."

"Alright," Demiurge nodded then turned his gaze to Shalltear. She was fidgeting with her hands on the table and seemed panicky. "Shalltear, please." He said to her while gesturing with his right hand that she would be the next person to speak.

"U-um…" Shalltear bowed we head low and stared at the table before shouting while lifting her head, "W-we should kill him right?! I-if he's a danger to Ainz-sama that we should slaughter him as soon as we see him, right?!"

It was clear that her repeated failures had piled up an enormous amount of pressure and stress on her. All she wanted to do right now was to turn off her poison resistances and remove her rings that had poison mitigation effects and drown in a sea of liquor at the bar on the ninth floor. She was so shamed of herself that she could barely face the other floor guardians.

"I see…" Demiurge said as he took up a thoughtful posture and cupped his chin with his hand.

"Well, what about you, Demiurge?" Albedo questioned. "Will you not also tell us your honest opinions?"

"Ah, yes… Well, it would seem that we have come to an impasse." He to the room as he returned to normal sitting position.

"What do you mean?" Albedo once again queried as she questioned the intentions of the arch-devil that sat beside her.

"You see, I also happen to agree with Aura and Mare." The other floor guardians were aghast and their mouths hung open at the unexpected proclamation. "Now now, no need to be so surprised. My reasoning is that we simply do not know enough to make a sound decision." He said while adjusting his glasses again.

"We have all observed the fight between Ainz-sama and Shalltear, correct?" He continued. "This Eukleides person could be just as powerful as Ainz-sama and the other supreme beings as he was a member of the precursor clan which lead to the creation of this guild."

"You would dare to compare Ainz-sama's power to his random man?!" Albedo shouted.

"No, Albedo, what I am saying is that we simply do not know enough." Demiurge said in rebuttal. "Not only that but…" He paused to emphasize his words. "When I heard Ainz-sama speak about him, there was distinct sadness in his voice. I think Ainz-sama regrets betraying Eukleides as he even referred to him as an "old friend" when he begun to talk."

"Hmm…I see…" Albedo replied as she stared downward in contemplation.

"Is it not our duty to see to Ainz-sama's happiness and not only his protection?" Demiurge questioned the other floor guardians. "Most likely, the other supreme beings left us because of boredom or disappointment. We must see that every single one of Ainz-sama's wishes and desires are fulfilled or he may also leave us."

The entire room sank in the collective worry and sadness of the floor guardians. The atmosphere turned heavy as they thought about the possibility of their one and only master leaving them behind like the others. Deep down, it was what the guardians feared more than even the entire world collapsing.

"But there are just some things that we just cannot give to Ainz-sama, not matter how we try." Demiurge continued.

"I see…" Albedo spoke softly as she gazed off into the distance with a blank expression. The other guardians could not understand what Demiurge meant as they would work their bodies to dust if it meant making their master happy.

"A friend." Demiurge finally said after a moment of silence. "Ainz-sama desires a friend who will understand him and he can relate to. That is something we can never be because we are his loyal servants. The children of him and his friends."

The floor guardians perked up their ears as they finally understood his meaning. Of course, that had to be it. They all understood that Ainz-sama had always wished he had a peer he could relate with as whenever he would speak about the other supreme beings to them, he would always seem sad. It was obvious that he missed them as much as they did. No, he missed them more than they could ever understand because they were his dear friends.

"I think that, for now, we should only observe Eukleides Vileblood and not try to meddle with him. If it seems that he does not intent to harm Ainz-sama, try and establish a friendly relationship with him if possible." Demiurge spoke in a confident voice. "Are we in agreement?"

The other floor guardians nodded aside from Albedo. She had her eyes closed, furrowed her brows and crossed her arms in her frustration. She hated to admit it but she knew Demiurge was right. She knew that her master desired a friend and that she couldn't be it but she still hated it. She hated the thought of not being able to fulfil the desires of her master and it frustrated her.

"Albedo." Demiurge addressed her in a soft tone as he understood the emotions she was feeling. He similarly didn't enjoy the thought of not being of use to his master.

"Argh, alright! I get it! Fine, but if that man shows even the slightest intention to do any sort of harm to Ainz-sama, I'll destroy him!" Albedo shouted.

"I concur." Demiurge nodded his head at Albedo the stood from his seat. "Then we all understand what we must do. Well then, meeting adjourned. Let us return to our duties."

The floor guardians stood and left the room to return to their tasks. They did so with a new found resolve. Whether they would befriend Eukleides Vileblood or destroy him with their combined fury was now up to him and his actions. The gears of fate continued to churn through time and left no one unaffected.

…

"Umu." Ainz said as he watched the floor guardians bow and leave his bedroom. He sat on his bed blankly for a while before letting out a long and deep sigh he was hold on to. "Hah…" He thought back to the times he had spent with his old friend and cursed himself. "I'm a coward, huh?"

He was one of the first friends he had ever made in Yggdrasil. They had gone on countless missions and quests together and whenever Ainz had to ask for help, Eukleides was always the first one to offer his aid. They had been through thick and thin together.

He stood up from his bed and walked over to him desk. A literal mountain of paperwork sat atop it but he didn't have the motivation to even begin it right now. He just silently at on his desk chair and rubbed his temples. "I wonder what he's up to…"

[ _I wonder if he's angry at me… it's not like I can blame him if he is_.] He thought to himself while mindlessly looking into the distance. His mind was a jumble as he thought of multiple lines of conversation he could use to talk to Eukleides and thought them over again and again.

[ _Argh! It's not use! Hah…what can I possibly say to him_ …] He kept mulling over the imaginary conversations in his head that he thought might play out if he actually did contact Eukleides. [ _There's no point. There's nothing that I can say for not to be mad at me right_?] He heaved another sigh.

[ _No, I shouldn't even be thinking up excuses to tell him. It would all be lies_ …] In his frustration, he yelled, "Damn it!" and slammed his fist against the desk. The desk shook slightly but because of it was well-made with materials from Yggdrasil; the pile of papers that sat on it didn't topple over.

"No! I will not lie to him! Not anymore! I'll just tell him that I'm sorry and beg for his forgiveness…" He shouted at himself to build up his courage. "Yeah…that's all I can hope for…his forgiveness." He brought his right hand up and placed his index and middle on his temple. He took a deep breath in (if he had lungs) and exhaled it all out before he was finally built up enough resolve.

He cast **[Message]**.

He heard two, high pitched dings in his head which indicated that the **[Message]** was received. "Eh…Um…" [ _Ah, damn it! All the lines I thought to say, where are you_?!] He thought to himself in a panic. His resolve was shattered and he couldn't say anything aside from making meaningless noises with his mouth.

"Hello? …Who is this?" He heard a voice in his head. It was a voice he remembers well even thought it had been ages since he had last heard it. He breathed a sigh of relief and tried to utter complete words.

"H-hello, it's me, A-Ainz!" He had finally managed to say but then realized it was a mistake.

"Ainz?" He heard the voice say. "Ah! The robed person that I saw when I first reawakened. Perhaps you were the person who freed me, right?"

[ _Argh! I'm such an idiot! Of course he won't know who Ainz is_!] Ainz cursed himself in his mind before he began to talk once again. "Yes, I was the one that freed you! …Eh, um… I'm sorry, what I meant to say was I'm Momonga… (not that you would remember, right?)" He said the last part in a barely audible voice.

"Right…I don't believe you."

"Eh…?" He was surprised by the statement and didn't know how to reply so his mouth just hung open.

"Why would Momonga be in this damned world? If you really are who you say you are then what is Momonga's real name?" He heard the voice say to him and he was stunned. It seemed that his old friend had not only remembered him but also remembered his IRL name as well.

"Suzuki Satoru!" He replied as fast as he could. There was a long pause in his mind as he didn't receive a reply. His mind was now a mess and thoughts raged through it. [ _Eh? Did I mess up? No, wait, what am I saying? Of course I remember my own name! Maybe it wasn't what he was expecting…what's going on_!] Ainz clawed at his head until he heard the voice, once again, ring out in his mind.

"Momonga-kun? …Is that really you?" He heard Eukleide's voice reply as if shocked.

"Yes, it is really me." He replied. [ _Okay good! Now apologize as fast as you can_!] He thought to himself as he built up his confidence once again. "I'm so sorr-!" Ainz tried to shout but was interrupted.

"Momonga-kun!" He heard the voice shout at him in his mind with a voice of pure joy. "What the hell. How did you get to this world? Did you get summoned too?" A flurry of questions was thrown at him even before he could finish his sentence.

"Heh? You got summoned to this world?" He asked in reply.

"Yeah well, it's a long story and I kind of don't want to get into it right now but… damn, are you really here?" Eukleides asked him in a voice of disbelief.

"Yeah! I'm really in this world and I have been here for a while now." Ainz replied in a happy, higher-pitched voice that his usual.

"And? How do you like it?" Eukleides asked him. He wasn't sure about how to answer that question so he paused and thought about it but before he could answer, Eukleides continued. "You know, it's completely different from what I remember before I was sealed in the damned time prison."

"Really?" Momonga asked in reply.

"Yeah. I flew into the sky to take a look at it and there was not a single arch-tree or dragon flying through the sky."

[ _Arch-tree? The heck's that_?] Ainz thought to himself while replying. "Well I do know a couple dragons. I'm using them as carriers to freight materials around my kingdom."

"What?!" He heard Eukleides exclaim in astonishment. "You have a kingdom?"

"Yeah! It's called The Sorcerer Kingdom!" Ainz replied in a slightly prideful voice.

"Wow, you've been busy, huh? I'll be careful so I don't destroy it by accident, hahaha."

"Hahaha…" Ainz nervously laughed in reply. He knew better than anyone what Eukleides was capable of so when he heard Eukleides say "destroy", he started sweating bullets (if he had skin).

"Say, Momonga-kun, could I visit you sometime? Not right now, of course, but… sometime later." Eukleides nervously asked him.

"Yes! Of course you can! Anytime you feel like!" Ainz replied hurriedly. Happiness overwhelmed him and he couldn't stop himself from smiling (if he had lips).

"Alright, hahaha. You better not forget, okay?"

"I definitely won't forget! Definitely! I promise!"

"Promise, huh…?" Eukleides paused and Ainz began to worry. Maybe he shouldn't have said promise. "Well, that's good to hear. I'm going to be busy for quite some time but I'll also promise that I'll visit you." Ainz wanted to ask him what he was going to be doing but stopped himself in fear that we might come off as nosey or rude.

"Okay, visit anytime you're ready! I'll be waiting!"

"Haha sure! …Momonga-kun, I've got to go but I'll call you back later, alright?" Eukleides said to him in a slightly lonely voice.

"Eh? Ah…sure!" He tried to reply in a happy voice but he couldn't stop himself from feeling lonely either. A long pause between the two ensued as neither one wanted to say good bye. The paused carried on and it felt like an eternity before Eukleides finally spoke.

"Hey, Momonga?" He said in a much quieter voice that previously.

"Y-yeah?" Ainz replied while trying to speak as normally as possible without letting his feelings show their his voice.

"I, uh…" Eukleides paused again. "I missed you so much, you know… you bastard…" He said. Ainz' mouth hung open at the unexpected words. It took him a while to reply but he finally said.

"Yeah…I missed you too…Yuki-san." After he replied, Ainz heard another two dings in his mind which indicated that the **[Message]** spell was deactivated. He just sat there in his desk chair, completely still for a while.

Ainz was trying his best to contain himself as, if he didn't, he would be jumping around his room from his happiness like a little schoolgirl who got asked out by a really cute boy. "Hell yeah!" He shouted while throwing both his fists into the air. His emotion suppression passive was pinging again and again but it did very little to hold his joy.

He heaved a couple deep breaths to settle himself and leaned back into his chair. He stared up into his ceiling and heaved a heavy sigh as if to release all his accumulated stress. He felt refreshed, as if he had just woken up from a restful nap.

[ _Ah, I didn't get to apologize_.] He remembered. [ _Well, it didn't seem like he was angry at me so I guess I'll just say sorry when he visits. Ah hahaha! He's visiting me_!] He had turned into a prepubescent teen, who was squealing about his crush. If the guardians had seen him like this, their image of a flawless and infinity wise king would have been shattered.

[ _Phew, alright. Well I better get back to work_.] He thought to himself as he reached for a piece of paper. [ _I feel like I could solo a raid boss right now. Come at me, you stupid paperwork_!] he lifted up the piece of paper and began reading.

"Eh?" He exclaimed when he saw the title of the report. It read: "Damage Report from Earthquake". "Oh, come on! Give me a break…" He breathed out a long and heavy sigh once again and continued reading. His enthusiasm had vanished as soon as it had appeared. Another long day at the office.

…

Eukleides Vileblood ended the **[Message]**. He wiped the singular black tear that had formed at the corner of his eye and took a deep breath. His loneliness which had threatened to consume him in the past bubbled up to the surface again. He swallowed his emotions and fixed his posture. [ _Not right now. Not until I'm done_.] He thought to himself while fixing his composure.

It was early morning and he was sat atop a boulder at the edge of a forest. In the distance he could see a long, dirt road that ran all the way to the gates of a city. That city's name was Re-Estize, the capital city of the kingdom. He was on the north side of the city and there was very little traffic on the road. The only people he saw were villagers or merchants lined up in front of the gates as guards inspected them.

"Huh, to think humans actually managed to make entire countries while I was sleeping." He snickered as he remembered that in the past, humans were only seen as another type of animal or pygmy. Scraps of life that was only meant to be used and thrown away. "My, how far you have come…or perhaps, how far _they_ have fallen." He chuckled to himself.

The crisp, morning breeze ran through his long, golden hair that extended down his back. He lazily indulged in the sensation while being comfortably perch on top of the boulder. He had swapped out his gear as he thought his normal armaments would stand out too much.

Now wore elaborately tailored, brown, hardened leather armour with a simple black t-shirt underneath his chest piece. He had on long, dark-leather boots that extended up to the bottom of his knees and thick, black, metal gauntlets on his hands that also covered most of his forearms. Draped over his shoulders, he wore a dark-green, hooded mantle. He still retained his accessories however as you could still hear the jungle of his golden earrings every time he shifted or turned his head. He had a simple shortsword strapped to his waist and a bow and quiver hung from in back.

In the distance behind him, he was able to make out the sound of rolling wheels on the dirt path. He cocked his head to the side in the direction of the noise from his comfortable sitting position on the rock. He activated the passive racial skill **[Predator's Vision]** which he had previously turned off to hide his identity. The pupils in his eyes changed shape into a "+" and his yellow irises now glowed red.

The skill was unique to high-ranking vampire races and it allowed the user to see the blood flowing within creatures (if they had blood). It made the heart and blood vessels within the body of the target glow red in the sight of the user and it could even be used through terrain if the target was within a certain range.

"Hahaha! But I guess some things never do change!" He laughed to myself. What he saw was a caravan of sorts running along the dirt road within the forest he was in. Two carriages accompanied by four horsemen who were acting as escorts, no doubt. The carriage in front of the other had a crest of the side of the door and he could see three silhouettes of humans through his vision. Two were sitting inside the carriage and the other was the coachman directing the horse along the road.

However, the carriage at the back of the caravan was what tickled his humour. The carriage was completely covered in a thick, cloth material leaving only the coachman's seat uncovered. Every time the carriage hit a hole or a bump in the road, it would clang in a heavy metallic sound as it raced along, heading for the city in the distance.

"This should be interesting…" Eukleides said with a smirk on his face. He deactivated his **[Predator's Vision]** and leaped off the boulder he was sitting on. "Let's see what they do." He said as he took off in the direction of the city. He ran at a speed faster than sound to the dirt road and stopped when he was far enough in front of the caravan for them not to see him. He slowed his speed to a calm walk and continued along the road.

It was not long after that that the caravan managed to catch up to him. Eukleides slowed his pace and turned around to have the caravan with was also slowing it's speed. He tried his best to suppress the devilish smile on his face and adopted a more neutral expression as he turned to the face the caravan. The caravan stopped only five meters from his position and the door of the first carriage swung open.

A formally dressed noblewoman that looked to be in her later thirties, stepped out from the carriage. She wore heavy make-up on her face and a tall, flamboyant wig like the ones you would expect to see in the medieval ages. From behind her, an older man also stepped out. He was grotesquely obese and every time he took a step, his entire body would jiggle. They were both adorned with jewellery and had a comically regal manner about themselves.

Eukleides calmly looked on without a hint of emotion in his face and he placed his right hand on his hip and leaned slightly in one direction. The four escorts also stepped off their horses and began to walk to surround Eukleides. He looked over the escorts and found that they had a rather well balanced team. The party consisted of a cleric in a white robe, a mage holding up a long wooden staff, a rogue clothed in all black and also a large, muscular man who was shouldering a greatsword.

Eukleides did not move an inch and allowed them to encircle him. The noblewoman stepped closer to Eukleides while still standing behind the escorts and began to speak to her husband.

"Look, dear! Who would have thought we would run into an elf in _this_ backwards country!" She said while pointing to Eukleides as if he was an animal on exhibit.

"Indeed." The nobleman agreed. Every time he moved his mouth to speak, his neck fat would sway in a disgusting fashion. "You, elf, why are you here?" He asked while licking his lips.

"Making my way to the city!" Eukleides replied in a much higher voice than usual while smiling. If one looked closer, you would have been able to see the corner of his mouth twitch slightly.

"I see." The nobleman acknowledged.

"Dear! Look at his earrings! Don't you think they would good on me?"

"Silence, you infernal woman! Can't you see I'm busy?!" He shouted at his wife who slinked backwards slightly. "Now then, where was I? Ah, yes, that's right. You, become my slave." The nobleman announced to Eukleides.

"I refused." Eukleides calmly replied the second the nobleman had finished his sentence.

"Hahaha!" The nobleman chuckled loudly. "You refuse? You never had a choice in the matter! I'm sure you will sell well in the slave auctions, elf." With the nobleman's signal, the escorts readied their weapons and pointed them at Eukleides.

"Are you sure you want to do that? Look at my ears carefully." Eukleides said while stretching out his left ear with his left hand. Sure, the tips of his ears were pointed but they were nowhere as long as an elf's.

"Hmm…It's shorter than I thought…"

"That is correct." Eukleides threw away his calm demeanour at this point and now had a small smile on his lips. "You see, porky, I'm only half-elf. You wouldn't want a customer coming back and complaining because you sold them defective goods, now would you?" He snickered.

"P-p-p-p-porky?!" The nobleman jiggled as he exhaled in horror. He was visibly turning red in anger as his escorts tried their hardest to suppress their laughter. "Y-you would dare to call I, Baron Gregory von Strosse, that, you insolent demihuman! Hmph, I no longer care for this retch. Do away with him." The nobleman said to the escorts while he fanned his right hand at them in a shooing motion. "Remember that everything on his body belongs to me now, so try not to damage it too much." As he said that, he turned and began to walk back to the carriage with his wife.

"Hah, some things really do never change." Eukleides exhaled in a refreshed sigh with a full-faced smile. "Now then, who is first?" He said as he turned to glance at the escorts. "I don't mind all of you at once, you know?"

"Tch, cocky punk!" The tall man with the greatsword said in an irritated voice. "Oi, take a look at this and let's see if you'll change your attitude!" He said while reaching under his hardened-leather chest armour to pull out a necklace that had a small golden plate with words writing on it. With a smug smile, he shouted, "That's right, we, Death Blade, are gold ranked adventurers! And it only took us twp years to get this rank!"

"…" [ _Adventurers? Gold rank? No way_ …] Eukleides thought to himself while face-palming.

"Ha! What's wrong? Terrified? Don't worry, just stand still and we'll make it quick! You can thank us if you want, you know." The greatsword wielding man jeered at him. Eukleides stopped face-palming and looked at the man.

"…And?"

"…Huh?" The man responded, confused.

"Is that supposed to mean something to me? Hah…This is stupid…" Eukleides had finally reached the end of his patience. "Do me a favour," A wide smile bloomed on his face. "And just die, you insects." A vein bulged up from the tall man's forehead.

"You bastard!" He shouted as he swung down his large greatsword vertically directed at Eukleides' head. The sword whistled through the air as it travelled straight for Eukleides' forehead. The tall man's lips formed a smile as the blade inched closer to the face of his arrogant enemy but it was stopped just a centimetre away before it would have landed.

"Hmph!" He tried to apply more strength and weight to his greatsword but it did not move an inch no matter how he twisted or turned it. "…What?" On closer inspection, he finally saw what had halted his attack. The blonde boy who was standing in front of him had caught his greatsword, which weighed over twenty kilograms, with just the index finger and thumb on his right hand.

The tall man was shocked and he was not the only one. His party members were also horrified. He was not only their party leader but also the power house of the party. He was their striker and much of their successes in the past could be attributed to his brute strength.

"M-monst-" The party leader tried to say but before he could finish, Eukleides lightly flicked the greatsword he was holding with his fingers. The greatsword reversed along the path it had once travelled and buried itself right through the middle of the party leaders head.

"I was earnestly trying to be as courteous as possible to you, overgrown swine, and this is how you treat me? Come now," Eukleides snickered at the adventurers. "There's no need to be rude."

"ARggh!" The mage holding the long, wooden staff shouted as he cast a **[Magic Arrow]** in his panic. Eukleides lightly side stepped and activated **[Parry Missile]** while he drew the shortsword from his waist. He hit the **[Magic Arrow]** with the flat side of his sword and directed it into the face of the rogue who was leaping at him from behind.

The **[Magic Arrow]** flew faster than its original speed after Eukleides parried it and went straight for the rogue, who was still in the air from his jump. By the time the rogue landed on the ground, he was already a corpse. His head had dematerialized into a spray of blood and brain matter with fragments of his skull flying as far as twenty metres away.

Eukleides stood silently, twirling his short sword around in his right hand with a deep smile across his face. "Ara? Is this all that you, O' mighty gold-ranked adventurers, are capable of? Colour me disappointed." He said while activating **[Charm Eyes]** and looked into the eyes of the cleric who was frozen in place, after all, there is no point in healing a corpse aside from making it look prettier.

"Would you kindly…Kill yourself?" Eukleides asked the cleric while flashing him a friendly smile.

"Of course, pal!" The cleric replied with a bright smile. He was young and rather handsome. Undoubtedly, if he had shown that smile to a girl, he may have very well caused her to swoon over him. However, right now he was walking over to the side of the dirt road. He picked up rock as large as his head and raised it above him. He then began to smash it into his skull.

With each strike, a disgusting, wet, crunching noise resounded through the forest. Thump, thump, thump. The side of the young cleric's face began to collapse but he continued to hammer at his skull. Thump, thump, thump. His entire face had turned into a revolting mess with his blood, mucus and saliva all mixing together but he was not done yet. He wobbly struggled to lift the heavy rock above his head again and just one more thump, he collapsed backwards with his skull entirely crushed inward.

Eukleides simply kept juggling his shortsword in his right hand with a disinterested face while everyone else in the area who witnessed the maddening scene of a man crush his own skull in with a rock, stood stock still. They were frozen in place feeling a mix between shock, horror and disgust. The mage, who had just witnessed his friend die in front of him, was the first among them to react.

"Ah…ah…Argh?!" He shouted then began to sprint in the direction the caravan had just come from. In his panic to escape the nightmare he was in, he didn't even hop on his horse and just ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction of Eukleides. The coachman and horses that had seen the entire battle, finally broke out from their daze and tried to run away as well but with a single sentence, Eukleides crushed their hopes.

"Going already?" He asked in an unconcerned manner. "I don't remember giving you permission to leave." He activated his ability **[Summon Household]** which summoned forth numerous level twenty Bloodhound Shades and level ten Abyssal Ravens from the depths of his shadow. He commanded the bloodhounds to kill the horses while he told the ravens to swarm the coachmen of the two carriages and rip them from their seats.

The summons did as they were told. Dozens of ravens flocked to the two coachmen and started to attack them with their talons and beaks. The coachmen flailed about, trying to get bat away the ravens to no avail. Once the ravens were able to plunge their talons into the coachmen's flesh and get a firm grip on them, they threw the coachmen off the carriages with their combined strength.

The bloodhounds pursued the horses that were turning around and had begun to run in the opposite direction. The horses didn't get far as the specialty of Bloodhound Shades were their speed. As soon as they reached the horses, they sunk their teeth into the ankles, knees and throats of the horse to bring them down as fast and efficiently as possible. The noble's carriage smashed into the horses that were pulling it as they all sudden collapsed in from of the speeding carriage.

The carriage was tossed into the air and landed on its side when it finally landed. The other carriage was much larger and heavier than the previous one so it didn't get thrown into the air and simply smashed into the bodies of the fallen horses. The horses raised their death throes before it became quiet in the forest, once again.

Eukleides calmly walked through the scene of pure carnage and disaster as if he was strolling through a nature reserve. Dogs were gnawing at the dead horses and the ravens also began their feast on the corpses of the coachmen. Some bloodhounds returned to his side and telepathically asked him if they should pursue the mage of the adventurers' party as he was still sprint off in the distance.

"No, it's fine. I have something more important for you guys to do right now." Eukleides affectionately replied to the bloodhounds while rubbing some of their heads. "Do you see that carriage over there? There are two people inside. Bring them to me." He said while pointing at the toppled-over noble's carriage. The bloodhounds merely barked in acknowledgment and went to do the bidding of their master.

The dogs ran to the carriage and approached its under side. They ravenously clawed at it with their paws and ripped the wooden boards out, one at a time until the interior of the carriage was visible. Inside were the nobleman and noblewoman who were shouting curses and screaming in a panic as the dogs pulled them both out with their teeth and dragged them to their master.

"Argh! Ah-ahh! Unhand me immediately, you foul beasts!" Gregory yelled as the bloodhounds forcefully bit into his arms and legs and dragged him along. The baroness was similarly squealing in pain.

"Ahh! Let go! Let go of meee! P-please no! Stop it!" She screamed while flailing on the ground as the dogs pulled her by her dress and arms. Eukleides sent his silent gratitude to the bloodhounds as he appreciated just how much trouble the nobles were. [ _It's hard to please such ungrateful guests, huh? Heh_.]

The dogs were finally able to drag over the two rodents to present to their master and placed them at his feet. Eukleides called over all the bloodhounds and ravens. The summons completely surrounded Eukleides and the two nobles who were rolling around on the floor. The forest was eerily silent aside from the wailing of the baron and baroness.

"D-don't you know who I am? I am a baroness from the Baharuth Empire, Yurra von Strosse! Making an enemy of me is like making the entire empire your enemy, you fool!" Yurra screamed at the top of her lungs towards the young blond boy in front of her. She was seething with anger but Eukleides looked down at her like she an ant.

"Fool…huh? There is an idiom which would be appropriate to describe you, Baroness Yurra von Strosse. " _A cat who borrows the roar of a lion_ "…. It would seem that you have not yet learned your place, O' great noble. Shall I put you in it more…obviously?" Eukleides spoke in his usual regal manner while he telepathically ordered two of his bloodhounds to chew on her arms.

The two dogs he had picked were sitting right behind her so all they needed to do was lean forward and latch onto her arms. Then they began gnawing. "Ahhh! N-no! Please stop! P-p-pleaaaaaase! Argh!" Yurra screamed as she could feel the flesh being cut and torn off her arms by the razor sharp teeth of the bloodhounds.

As she pleaded for clemency, tears poured out of her eyes and mucus streamed down from her nose. She started drooling like mad and her whole face became a wreck. The heavy make-up she caked onto her face was all coming off as she continued to cry. She looked like a tragically sad clown which amused Eukleides greatly. "P-pweeash! Maaake it staaahp! I-I undeeershand! I'm sooorrry! I understuuuand nooow!"

[ _You can stop now_.] Eukleides told the bloodhounds in his mind. "Oh really?" He said towards the weeping Yurra who was lying powerlessly on her back. The part of her arms that was above the elbow was completely gnawed through to the bone.

"Y-yes…Yes! I-I understand! Please…no more…please…" She pleaded to him.

"Ah! That's a good girl! Just what I wanted to hear." Eukleides told her we a bright smile on his face. "You know, Yurra-chan, I like smart girls and _you_. _are_. _a_. _smart_. _girl_!" He said while emphasising his words. "You can go ahead and take a break, Yurra-chan. You've earned it! But you know, I'm curious." As he said that, he shifted his gaze to Gregory.

"Hiii-hiiii!" Gregory squealed. His entire body jiggled like jelly in fear.

"Are. _you_. a. smart. boy. Gregory-kun?" He slowly said in a deep voice while leaning closer to the trembling baron.

"Y-yes, I understand! I'll do whatever you s-say! J-just don't hurt me!" He replied as loudly as he could while furiously nodding his head. "W-what do you want? Money?! You can have everything! Fame? I'll use all my authority to spread your name everywhere I go! I p-promise! Please!" Gregory begged on his hands and knees. Greasy sweat and tears ran down his face.

"Haaah…" Eukleides exhaled heavily while face-palming in a disappointed manner. "You just don't get it, Gregory-kun. Why can't you be smart like your wife?" He said in an exaggeratedly sarcastic way.

"W-wh-what?! W-wait! Please?! I'll do anything you say!" Gregory begged even louder while he rubbed his forehead into the dirt. His tears and drool formed a small puddle under his face as he pleaded with all his soul.

"Ah… I had such high hopes for you too, Gregory-kun (lie). Hah…Truly, what a shame (lie)." Eukleides said mournfully while shaking his head. [ _Rip him apart, limb by limb, and slowly. I want him to suffer_.] He told the thirsty Bloodhound Shades who more than happily took to their duty. The dogs slowly prowled closer to the bloated man.

"No! N-n-n-no! P-please?! Have mercy! I'm so sorr-arghhh! Ahhh?!" Gregory screamed at the top of his lungs while the blood thirsty dogs started to bite into him. They piled up on top of him and because of their special semi-ethereal form, they were extremely flexible and could squeeze into tiny crevices so dozens upon dozens could bite into him at the same time.

The Bloodhound Shades took him like starving beasts and ripped him apart slowly. One chunk of flesh at a time. They worked from his appendages inward. A particularly gruesome part of the hounds' buffet was when one of the dogs bit into his family jewels and viciously shook it's head until the parts were torn off. Eukleides thought he could hear Gregory-kun scream especially louder at that moment but it was hard to tell over all the growly and chewing noises.

The feast only lasted five minutes until Gregory's corpse was stripped of every bit of flesh and blood. The dogs and ravens shared when they were chewing on his bones which occasionally made cracking noises. Eukleides ordered a few ravens to retrieve all of the valuables from his corpse as well as from Yurra, who was still alive.

He stored the coin purses and jewellery in his inventory while he kept a metal ring, which had two keys hanging from it, at hand. He made his way over to the second carriage that was still standing on its wheels. He paced slowly towards it and with every step he took forward, he could hear rustling inside the carriage.

[Return to me.] He commanded his summons and they all crawled into his shadow where they had come from. When he reached the carriage, he drew his shortsword and cut the straps that held the thick, cloth material which was used as a cover for the carriage. He then threw off of the large cloth sheet.

It revealed that the carriage was actually just a large iron cage on wheels. In the carriage were people. They were mostly human but he saw a few beastmen as well as a solitary elf in a corner of the cage. They were all huddled together on the opposite side of the cage he stood on. They were all dressed (if you could call it that) in simple rags and wore collars that were chained to the cage around their necks.

Most of them were wounded in one way or another and all were malnourished. They were slaves. He knew this as he had seen slaves on a regular basis during his time in this world. He approached the lock on the cage's door and unlocked it with one of the keys he had "acquired" from Gregory. He reasoned that the other key would most likely be the one that unlocked the slave's collars.

As he opened the door to the cage, it screeched with a horrendously loud cry from the hinges. The slaves grouped together even closer. Some held other slaves in their embrace and others simply wept as Eukleides approached them. "Here." He said to them while holding out the keys. "It is yours, you need only grasp it with your hands. Come now, don't you want to be free?" He said while shaking the keys in their direction.

None approached. They could see that the keys were coated in blood and they had all heard the sounds, the screams and noises outside. It was the stuff of nightmares. If there was a single thing they knew about Eukleides, it would be that he was far more dangerous than their masters. A young human with brunette hair started to cry aloud.

She looked like she couldn't have been any older than ten. She was horribly thin with her ribs clearly in sight but that small girl was standing up. There were women who looked like they were far older than she was but they all trembled and hid instead of reaching for the keys.

"M-mommy…I want to go home to mommy…" She sobbed. Her wobbly legs looked like they had barely enough strength just to hold her up, let alone walk. But she did it anyway. One small, shaky step at a time, she walked toward Eukleides. Her thin right arm reached out towards the keys like they were the only hope she had left. Eukleides placed the keys on his open palm and out-stretched his arm to offer them to her. A faint smile appeared on his lips.

She wept as she inched closer. She was now just a hands-length away from the keys. Dread consumed her entire mind but for the sake of seeing her mother once again, she reached her arm out further. She turned her head away and closed her eyes but continue to reach for the keys.

She could feel the hard, cold metal of the man's gauntlets but she could also feel the shape of keys. She closed her hand and quickly pulled it back into her chest before the man could grab it or do something worse. Then she slowly opened her eyes to look at what was in her palm and sure enough, it was a pair of keys. A wave of relief washed over her but now she was too fatigued to even keep her eyes open, let alone stand. She started to fall towards the floor of the metal cage.

"Well done, child. I shall allow you to rest, you have earned it." Eukleides said has he caught her in his arms. A wide smile bloomed on his face as he looked at the little girl that had braved his trial. Out of everyone within the cage, even much older or fitter people who were in it, she was the only one who had the courage and determination to seek freedom. Thus it was only right that she would receive a reward for her efforts.

He took the keys back from her and unlocked her iron slave-collar. He then reached into his inventory and retrieved a health potion. It was a low-level potion that only level twenty players would find any use for but it should have been enough to heal the girl's wounds. He popped the top off the bottle and poured the red liquid over the girl's body.

Green light shimmered around her body for an instant then disappeared. When the green light vanished, all the cuts and bruises the girl suffered were healed. She also did not look so famished. Eukleides set the girl down on the floor and threw the keys at one of the older women among the slave. "Use it. Free yourself and the others." The woman screamed when the keys were thrown at her but after hearing what the young man said, she fumbled to picked the keys back up and undid her collar.

She was slow but got the job done and freed the other slaves. "One at a time, you are to leave this cage and never return. As you exit, I will bestow upon you a gift. Be grateful." Eukleides told the slaves who had all stood up with the cage and gestured for them to walk past him out of the cage door that he body was once blocking.

The human woman that he had thrown the keys to was the first to approach him. "Hold out your hand." He told her. She did as she was told and Eukleides placed a single gold coin, which he had taken from the nobles, in the centre of her palm. He leaned closer to her face, forcing her to make eye-contact, and whispered to her in a hushed voice only she would hear, "You will forget everything that happened today and erase all memories of me from your mind. You will follow this road south to the nearest city and continue as you please from there."

The woman's eyes faded in a ting of red slightly and she replied with a simple, "Understood" and went on her way. Eukleides continued to do this to all the freed slaves as a precaution. He didn't want them to retain their memory as they could either blow his cover or spread unfavourable rumours about him. However, there was a problem.

The elf woman who was still sitting in the corner of the cage refused to move. Looking at such a pathetic creature, Eukleides held back the urge to put her out of her misery with a well-placed slice from his shortsword. He walked up to her and leaned in close to look at her face.

She was battered and bruised. Scars covered every inch of her back and she was covered in filth. The rags she wore looked even more tattered than those of the other freed slaves and did very little to hide her modesty. Eukleides grabbed her chin with his left hand and turned her face so he could look into her eyes. [ _As expected_.] He thought to himself.

Those were the eyes of a completely defeated person. Her mind must have been constantly tortured until it retreated within itself. The soul of the person was dead but the body went about the motions as if it were still alive. Eukleides had seen these eyes countless times while being in this world but also in the Old Kyoto slums, back in his original world.

He pulled her into his embrace. Her body hung limp in his arms, not struggling in the slightest. "I've seen people like you innumerable times and I know what you all crave." He whispered into her ear. "You want power. Power to stand up and fight all those who oppose you. To destroy them. To conquer them. To have vengeance."

Eukleides could hear a breath escape from the lips from elf. As if she tried to say something but no words came out. "You want to make them suffer as you have suffered. To make them feel the same pain and misery you felt. You want it with all your soul." He could hear the rhythmic thumping of her heart speed up as he continued to speak to her.

" _I_ can give you the power you seek but nothing in this world comes free." Eukleides could feel her heart race faster with every word he spoke. "As you no longer have need for your life, I shall claim it for my own in exchange." He spoke in a calm but clear voice so that she was sure to hear every word he said. He wanted to be sure she understood what the deal entailed. "Do you accept the contract?" After saying that, he paused and waited.

The elf's lower lip began to quiver. Her breathing was accelerating and she was mumbling noises but not real words. So he continued to wait. The noises she was making grew louder the more time passed. They became more distinct and clear over time until, finally, she was able to mutter, "Y-yes!" in a screeching voice.

"Very well. Then your life is now mine." Eukleides said with a slight smile then he opened his mouth. The canines on his upper jaw grew multiple times the size it was originally and became fangs. He sunk his fangs into the elf woman's neck and began to drink. He was genuinely surprised that the elf did not struggle in the slightest as he drained her of her life. As he had also done the same to a great many other people, he knew that him drinking blood directly from the neck of a normal person would be excruciatingly painful but she did not flinch in the slightest.

Not even ten seconds had passed and she was completely drained of her blood. Her cold, pale corpse was placed on the ground outside of the cage on the grass beside the dirt road. Eukleides stood beside her body and held his left hand over her. He temporarily disabled his passive physical damage mitigation and cut into the palm of his left hand with his sword.

His black blood began to drip onto the chest of the female elf. "I shall now fulfil my end of the contract. **[Blessing of the Original: Summon Vampire Queen]** " Eukleides cast a spell from his crusnik race skill set. The blood that was dripped onto the female elf's chest seeped into her bare skin and swam from blood vessel to blood vessel in its search for her heart. A large, bright red magical circle burst forth under her.

Tendrils made of thin red mist appeared out of the magical circle by the dozen and pointed direct up into the sky. Then they all bent at the same time and began to pour into the elf's body. Her blood vessels, once again, regained their red colour and were visible when looking at her pale, white skin.

A heavy thud came from where her heart was located and a black spot also appeared. With each thud of her heart, her body convulsed and the black spot grew larger. Faster and faster her heart began to beat and the black spot grew into a large web of sort across her chest.

The red mist thinned into nothing and with it, the black web disappeared too. The beating of her heart abruptly stopped as well. Her body began to hover above the ground and she was placed on her feet. The massive red magical circle faded away and stillness returned to the forest.

She opened her eyes and instead of the faded-out green they used to be, they were now burning deep red and had slits for pupils. Her skin was now paler than before but now had regained its plumpness and elasticity. She no longer looked like a starving lamb. She kneeled in front of Eukleides and bowed her head.

"Welcome back." He said in a lazy voice.

"I thank you for-"

"Stop." Eukleides interrupted her. "You see, though you may have gained some aspect of strength, you still have not proved yourself to be worthy." He said while slowly walking up to her. She lifted her head and he could see that she had a surprised face. "After all, I do not have any use for parasites. Just a moment ago, you were wholly prepared to die but now, I am the only one who decides your fate. I want you to understand that and show me," Eukleides lifted her off the ground with his right hand by her hair. "That you are prepared to live in service to me."

Eukleides threw her off into the distance. She landed face first into the dirt but it was strangely wet and warm. The place she had landed smelled like rusting iron but for some reason, it tickled her nose and she was drawn to it like a moth to a flame. She looked up and saw that she was lying in a trail of blood that led down the road.

"Feast." Eukleides told her while pointing in the direction of the trail. The newly-born vampire queen instinctually understood what she had to do. She stood up slowly and followed the blood trail so that she could prove herself to her new master.

…

Yurra von Strosse had escaped from the scene of nightmares. She had managed to crawl at least a third of a kilometre which was rather impressive as she no longer had the use of her arms. [ _If…if I can make it to the city, then I'll make that bastard regret he was ever alive! How dare a filthy demihuman half-breed do this to me?!_ ] She thought to herself while willing her weak legs to push her along the ground. [ _Mark my words. I, Yurra von Strosse, will have you burned alive, you rat_!]

She suddenly stopped and fear consumed her. She tried her hardest to turn her head a see what was coming towards her. The sound of footsteps drew closer to her and with their every step, she tried a little harder. Persevering through the pain in her arms, she managed to look back.

Yurra saw not only one or two people but almost as dozen people entered her sight. A deep sense of relief washed over her as she could recognise who the people were. They walked with steady steps in a single file line. [ _Ah yes! Come this way, over here!_ ] She thought to herself as she saw the people slowly make their way in her direction. She no longer had the strength to sit up so she merely waited for her slaves to approach instead.

"Hey, you slave! Come here!" She spoke loudly to the nearest slave that had walked in her direction. The slave was now only a few meters from her body. "Pick me up this instant, you scum! I will have you carry me to the city!" She shouted to her slave that was now only a meter away. Feeling contented, she rested her eyes and waited to be picked up.

That never happened. With her eyes closed, she heard the slave's footsteps drew closer and walk to her side. Then the footsteps continued past her. Surprised, she opened her eye to see why the slave had not picked her up and saw that the slave had merely walked past her. Anger stirred within her as she shouted, "What do you think you are doing, you worthless slave! Come back here this instant and pick me up!"

"I have to go to the city." The slave replied in a lifeless voice and continued walking.

"What!? Do you want to get whipped, you disgusting pig! Get back here right now!" Yurra squealed at the slave. The slave acted as if she had not even heard Yurra and continued walking. Yurra could hear another pair of footsteps so she thought to herself, [ _Well no matter, I'll just punish her later and get this other slave to help me_.]

"Slave! Come here and pick me up right now!" Yurra shouted to the new slave that crossed her path.

"I have to go to the city." The slave replied in the same lifeless voice the other slave also had.

"W-what?" Yurra was shocked at the fact that her slaves had so nonchalantly disobeyed her. She looked closer at the slave and saw that her eyes had faded of life and now dimly shined in a pale red. "W-wait! If you carry me to the city, I'll pay you! I-I'll free you!" Yurra shouted but the slave mindlessly continued walking in the direction of the city.

This interaction continued again and again with every slave she tried to command. The tiny sliver of hope that formed in her heart fizzled out and she drearily continued to crawl on her stomach towards the city. [ _Damn you_! _Damn you all_!] She cursed in heart. [ _Wait until I get to the city! I will skin you all alive_!] She crawled forward, one push with her feet at a time, which made her look almost like a caterpillar slithering over the ground, leaving a trail of blood from her arms behind her.

Yurra heard another pair of footsteps coming from behind her. She had thought that all the slaves had already overtaken her but then she remembered that she still had two more slaves that she had not seen. The elf and the girl. She turned to look back and saw that it was indeed the elf but when looking at her; Yurra felt a chill run down her spine.

Unlike the other slaves, the elf was completely naked now and her eyes burned with a deep crimson. She looked at Yurra with like a starved beast. This prompted Yurra to continue to crawl forward at a hastened pace. Her instincts told her that if she didn't escape, she would be devoured. "N-no! Stay back, you bitch! Don't come any closer!" Yurra squealed.

Yurra's legs furiously kicked the ground as they pushed her forward. At this point, her beautifully tailored dress was in tatters and caked in mud and dirt. The footsteps behind her drew closer no matter how fast she crawled. "S-stay back! Get away!" She yelled as loud as she could. The footsteps stopped. Out of surprise, she also stopped and looked behind her. She could no longer see the elf anywhere. Yurra let a sigh escape her lips as she turned back to look to the front.

She saw a pair of feet right in front of her face. She lifted her head up slowly to see the rest of the body. The body she was looking at was completely bare, without a shred of clothing. Her flawless skin was as pale as the moon and her golden blonde hair flowed all the way down to her waist.

Her body had all the curves that other women would be insanely jealous of and would turn men into beasts. Her mouth was opened slightly to reveal she had very prominent canine teeth and her red eyes glowed with an eerie radiance as they looked down at her. The elf reach reached down with her right hand and pulled Yurra up from the ground by her hair.

"Ahhh! Let me go, you sow! Let go!" Yurra screamed as she flailed her body about and kicked out as hard as she could. When she kicks and stomps landed on the body and stomach of the elf, it felt like she was kicked stone as the elf's body did not move an inch nor even flinch at being attacked.

"Argh! N-no stop! Stop! Don't do this! P-please! Ahhh!"

Yurra von Strosse's screams echoed all throughout the forest and scattered birds from the trees.

…

[ _Well done, girl_.] Eukleides sent the vampire queen his compliments telepathically through the connection that summoners and summons had by default. He softly brushed the light-brown hair of the young girl who had he head rest in his lap while she slept, with his left hand.

Eukleides had summoned forth a decorative, black-leather coach from his treasury, as opposed to his inventory, when he sent the vampire queen after Yurra and now he lounged lazily on it with the little girl. In his right hand, he had a wine glass and was slowly sipping the contents as he waited for the vampire queen's return.

"Master, I have returned." The vampire queen said as she kneeled down in front of Eukleides.

"Umu, welcome back." He acknowledged. "Now, cleanse yourself." He said then a golden portal opened up beside the vampire queen. Like a body of completely still water that had been disturbed, the golden portal rippled out from its centre. A large, folded towel and a pitcher of water appeared out from the portal before it closed.

"Well, I didn't expect you to be able to drink cleanly as it was your first time but this is unacceptable." Eukleides said as he looked down at his vampire queen. She had been drenched in blood from her mouth all the way down her torso. "You are a vampire queen. My vampire queen. Everything you do will reflect upon me, as your master, so do not disappoint me."

"Yes, master!" She shouted in reply. Her cheeks and long ears were dyed in a tinge of red as she bowed her head in shame.

"After you are clean and have changed into this, return to me." Eukleides tossed her a complete set of leather armour as well as a long, black mantle to wear over it from his treasury. The vampire queen caught the clothes, picked up the pitcher of water and towel and began to walk into the forest.

"I have returned, master." She came back a few minutes later and bowed once again before Eukleides.

"Good, but you're not done changing just yet." Eukleides said as he presented her four rings, a necklace and a simple mask that had the face of a wolf painted on it. "Put these on."

"I am unworthy." She said as she accepted the items and equipped them. Though the mask did not have eye holes, she could magically see through it. Eukleides also handed her a simple curved bow and quiver full of arrows.

"Now, then, let us get going." He said as he lifted up the sleeping girl and handed her over to his vampire queen to hold as he began to walk. He returned the coach and wine glass to his treasury and began to walk. The vampire queen, holding the young girl, followed closely behind him.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Eukleides said as he suddenly stopped walking and turned around. He drew his bow from his back and nocked an arrow. He aimed high into the early afternoon sky and cast **[Prey Seeker]**. The arrow was coated in a blue aura and a shining light-blue magic circle formed in front of where Eukleides was aiming.

He loosed the arrow into the sky and as it passed the magical circle hovering in front of the bow, the aura coating the arrow changed colour from blue to bright red. The shining red arrow arched through the sky as it flew out of the sight of the group.

"Now we can go." Eukleides said as he placed the bow on his back, flipped the hood on his dark, green mantle over his head and began walking again in the direction of the city.

…

Harrien Flareese, the mage from the Death Blade, ran breathlessly through the forest. He was surrounded by trees on all sides as he ran. The only sound in the forest was the noise of his feet crunching twigs and leaves beneath them as he ran sluggishly. He was exhausted and was heaving loudly as he drew air into his lungs.

"G-got to…get…away…" He stuttered as he dragged his feet through the grass. He didn't have any energy left but he willed his body forward anyway. He limped along and forced himself to stay upright by leaning against the trees he past.

He watched his friends, that he had been through thick and thin with, get slaughtered in front of him by that damned monster. The two years that they had spent together means nothing now. They were all gone and he couldn't do anything to stop it. He hated himself for being a coward and just running but what could he do?

The blonde half-elf, or at least he said he was, had killed two of his friends in an instant. Their party leader was the first one to go. He was the brawn of the party but the elf stopped his greatsword attack with just two fingers. How was that even possible?

His leader and his rogue friend were lucky in comparison to the cleric, though. He died the most horrific death out of the three. He smashed his own head in with a rock. Why? The mage didn't know but he had guessed it was some kind of mind control. That, he was sure of. No amount of madness would make a person do that to themselves, he thought.

He hated it. His fear and his remorse piled up and it felt like it would crush him. He tripped and fell forward. He hit his head hard on the ground but it was slightly cushioned by the rotting leaves on the forest floor. He flipped his body over and gazed up.

He saw the rays of sunlight beaming in between the leaves above. Emotions over came Harrien and he broke down in tears. He could no longer hold himself back and cried loudly, sending his mournful screams throughout the forest. It was a long time before he stopped crying.

He had run away from the scene where it all happened as fast as he could while clutching his staff to his chest with a death grip. He ran for as long as his legs would carry him then kept running. Fear drove his body forward.

Along the way, paranoia set in and he decided to get off the road because he would be harder to find in the forest. He had run almost an entire kilometre to get where he was. Pain and exhaustion ran through his body and it felt like his bones were creaking. He wasn't used to this kind of physical exertion. He was a mage after all.

He collected his breath and his mind settled as the quiet rustling of the leaves in the forest relaxed him. He was a coward. He knew that. He left his friends' bodies lying there and just ran. "Hah…I can't…I couldn't do anything!" He shouted at him.

Anger rose up from the deepest parts of the body and with it, courage. "I couldn't do anything then but maybe…if that bastard as left…maybe I can at least collect your plates…" He forced him body up. Some of his stamina had come back but his body still hurt. "No! I have to do this! How else is anyone going to believe me when I tell them about that monster?!"

He leaned his body against a tree to stand. It took him a second to fully convince his mind to go back. At least this way, he would have proof. At least this way, his friends wouldn't have died in vain. He began to walk in the direction he came from.

As he walked, he heard a strange whistling sound. It was like the sound that thin branches would make if you swung them fast enough. The whistling sound got louder and louder until he couldn't ignore any more so he stopped walking. He searched for the source of the sound.

It was coming from somewhere above him but he couldn't be sure where exactly as noises in the forest tend to travel in strange way. He looked upward. The light from the afternoon sun was a bright as ever as it beamed through the tree leaves and he had to squint looking at it.

The noise drew closer and closer and he was sure now that it was coming from above him. He peered harder into the sunlight, looking high into the sky through the gabs in the leaves and was able to make out a shining red orb. The orb of light grew larger as the sound did so now he was sure it was the source of the noise but he had no idea what it was.

It seemed to be flying in his direction but why? It didn't look like anything Harrien knew. Certainly not a bird. He leaned upward to look even closer. The orb was growing in his vision at a rapid speed from the tiny spot in the sky it used to look like. His eyes opened wide in shock as it drew imminently closer. Harrien tried to move out of its trajectory but it followed his movement.

Before he could do anything else, the **[Prey Seeker]** had found its intended target and pierced through Harrien's heart, creating a hole through his torso.


	6. Coalition - part 1

**Author's Note**

Hey guys! Welcome back!

I would just like to say that I've been really sick for a while now and the doctors have no idea what's wrong with me. I had to take a blood test and a bunch of other stuff and now I feel super tired all the time but please bear with me. I hope it's nothing serious like cancer or diabetes.

I'll keep trying to pump out new chapters!

Enjoy!

 **…**

The blistering hot summer sun once again hung high above the capital city of Re-Estize. This summer had been especially harsh and there were no lack of farmers who cursed the heavens because it made their already hard life even harder. The recent earthquake also made it harder as it toppled over fences and frightened the animals that still weren't settling down and were kicking up a fuss.

Renner Theiere Chardelon Ryle Vaiself, heralded as the Golden Princess, had spent another day at the orphanage she had opened after the last war. That war had been devastating and many people, both peasants and nobles alike, had lost their family members. Many families collapsed and the children were left abandoned or sold into slavery.

The princess had used the war as a prefix to open this orphanage (with the financial support of a certain high noble who was mentally crippled after the war) and collect as many displaced children as possible. She had done so for a myriad of reasons but the least known reason would be that she was searching for talent. She would use this talent to rebuild her crumbling kingdom and help her attain the throne.

Very few people knew this, even among her closest allies, and most people simply took it as the pure and charitable princess once again helping the helpless. With this beautifully orchestrated scheme of hers, she had attained the hearts and minds of the people. It was one thing to rule over the people and another thing entirely when the people themselves wanted to be ruled.

She had helped the orphanage clean up after the earthquake. The people there, seeing the princess lower herself and help them, were heartened by the gesture and further pledged to serve the princess loyally. She was about to leave when two children ran up to her and clung to her long white dress.

"Renner-himesama, are you coming back? Are you?" A young boy with short, dark brown hair asked as he desperately clutched her dress. He looked like he was ten and was much taller than all the other children his age.

"Of course, Kuchev-kun!" She replied back while softly petting his head and putting on her best smile.

"U-um… Renner-himesama, please read us another story when you visit next time." A small girl with long, platinum hair nervously pleaded Renner while shyly grabbing onto her dress with the tips of her fingers. "I-if you don't mind, of course…"

"I do not mind at all, Chelsea-chan." The princess replied while also petting her head as well. "Now be good children! If you are, I will come back sooner, you know?" She said while making her way past the door and waving to the children behind her. The children of the orphanage were mournfully and reluctantly saying their farewells to her while Renner made her way to her carriage.

"Those brats really love you, huh?" A slender, young woman who was walking beside Renner commented. She wore a red ribbon in her hair and had revealing armour on.

"Of course, Tia-sama. She is the Golden Princess, after all." A young man that wore elaborate silver plate armour replied. He was similarly walking with Renner and would very rarely be seen not in her company.

"Geez, Climb!" Renner exclaimed while pouting at the young man. "I swear you only address me with that shameful to embarrass me!" She said while crossing her arms and pouting at the young man and continued on her way to the carriage.

"No, not at all, himesama. I think it is a very flattering name that the people have given you. It just shows how much they love you." Climb replied in an energetic manner, earnestly appealing to his princess.

"L-love you say…" Renner said while shyly cupping her face with her hands and turning away from the young man with rosy cheeks.

"N-no…I-I mean…um…" Climb similarly turned away from his mistress with blushed cheeks and scratching the back of his head. Tia, who was walking right beside them, had a perfectly blank face and just sighed in defeated manner while hastening her steps.

Renner had perfectly sculpted the faces she was using right now for the purpose of wholly and completely conquering the heart of young man by the name of Climb. She had practised innumerable times in the mirror in her room to forge these faces and gestures just for the purpose of fooling those around her. None could argue that she had not accomplished her task as Climb was entirely smitten with her.

He, however, could not act upon his emotions as he held a knights honour and oath to always loyally protect her. He was extremely stubborn when it came to rules and his princess thus not allowing himself to break his oath. The difference in their status was also another issue.

The coachman opened the door for Princess Renner who had got on the carriage first, followed by the other two. The ride to Valencia Palace was an uncomfortable one for Tia as she had to watch the two love-sick teenagers. It was plainly obvious that she was not amused in the slightest by the look on her face that said that she would rather be shovelling manure than spending any more time in the carriage.

It did not take very long for them to get to Renner's room in Valencia. Climb opened the door for the two women to enter first. When Renner stepped inside, the room fell quiet where as before, she could hear muffled talking on the other side of the door. The large room was already full of people, six to be exact.

"Ah, she's finally here." Lakyus Alvein Dale Aindra, the leader of Blue Rose, said as she turned her head to face Renner. The other members were also in the room with her as well as two other people. Renner did not recognise the two other people but still maintained her perfected calming smile on her face as she addressed them.

"Oh, you're here!" Renner said while exclaiming in a happy voice. "What do I owe the pleasure for this visit?" She said while walking in the direction of her friend. Even Tia had a surprised expression of her face when she first entered the room but then returned to her normal placid look while raising a hand to greet her teammates.

"Business. Serious business." Lakyus replied while showing Renner a very formal and serious expression. The two of them had a rather relaxed relationship most of the time so Renner knew that she would have to restrict the lax attitude she would usually display when interacting with Lakyus.

"Who might these two be?" The princess said while taking a seat at her table and gesturing to the two strangers who were standing behind Lakyus. The two who were addressed stepped up themselves before Lakyus could introduce them.

One of them was a much older woman with a wrinkly face but still had a slender and fit looking body. She had an exquisitely made sword strapped to her waist and strange wrappings with various magical symbols written on them around the parts of her arms Renner could see.

The other wore beautiful shimmering-silver full plate armour that seemed to glow slightly. He had a similarly beautifully decorated shield and straight sword that hung from his back. He stood at over two meters tall and shone with a strange brilliance.

"Hey there, Golden Princess-chan." The mature woman said to her while walking closer. Renner could see that Climb, who was standing right behind her, gripped the hilt of his sword tighter as the older woman walked closer. "I'm Rigrit." She said casually with a wave of her hand.

"Greetings, Renner-himesama. I am Valjazeuz." The large man in the shimmering suit of armour said with a light bow of his head. Their identities were quite clear to Renner as this point.

"Oh my!" She exclaimed with her eyes widened and a hand over her open mouth. "To think that two of the legendary thirteen heroes would visit me!" Renner said greeting the two. Climb released the hilt of his sword from his hand and stood behind Renner blankly with his mouth agape.

"Ah hahaha, it's embarrassing when you call us that so seriously." Rigrit said while shyly fanning her hands in embarrassment. "Well, I'm not really interested in small talk like nobles are so let's skip all that and just talk about why we came here." She said taking a seat on the table next to Lakyus.

"Of course!" Renner responded with an enthusiastic voice and flashing a smile at the duo.

"Great, now then." Rigrit paused for a moment and indicated that everyone should come closer to the table to talk. Everyone did as she gestured and stepped closer to the small tea table, forming a tightly woven circle. "Valjazeuz and I have reason to believe that the Evil Deities have reawakened." Rigrit whispered in a serious tone.

Renner and Tia gasped audibly while Climb was just frozen in place. The other people in the room seemed calm as they had been notified before Renner's return so they had more time to come to grips with what Rigrit had told them. No one said anything for a moment before Valjazeuz, the man in the suit, spoke.

"I was told this by the Argland Council. The Dragon Councillors told me that they sensed a shift in the Earthen Pulse after the recent earthquake."

"Excuse me but could you explain what the Earthen Pulse is?" Renner queried while raising her right hand. "Please forgive my ignorance."

"Not at all." Valjazeuz replied. "Think of it as a massive swirling pool of mana at the centre of the continent, deep underground. It sends mana through the ground through what is known as "Soul Streams". These soul streams are like branches stretching out from the Earthen Pulse to all the corners of the continent.

The reason the Dragon Councillors sensed a change is because of their ability to use wild magic. Their magic is directly affected by the condition of the Earthen Pulse so they can sense even minute changes in the environment."

"I see…" Renner said while adopting a thoughtful look.

"Anyway!" Rigrit shouted in a restless manner. "The reason we say that the Evil Deities have reawakened is because the seals we put the ones we couldn't destroy under is also directly affected by the soul streams. During the earthquake, the streams were temporarily shut off so we think that the mana that was fuelling the sealing magic was also interrupted."

"Thus freeing them." Valjazeuz interjected. "There are already reports of sightings."

"Why are you telling me all this?" Questioned Renner.

"Because we believe you could help us. That and we'd like to recruit these guys to join the fight." Rigrit replied while gesturing at the girls from Blue Rose. If Blue Rose were to join the pair in their fight against the Evil Deities, it would mean they would leave Renner behind and she could possibly be in danger. After all, there was deep unrest within the kingdom and a lot of people would love if Renner was dead, even including her elder brother.

"Okay!" Renner replied in a cherry voice, looking like she didn't have a worry in the world.

"""Eh?""" A few girls from Blue Rose and Climb were surprised by her lax attitude.

"Renner, are you sure you will be alright?" Lakyus asked with a concerned look on her face. Renner was her close, childhood friend so leaving her behind, unprotected, worried her. She knew very well the dangers that Renner faced and this was the reason that she and the rest of Blue Rose agreed to be her private body guards with little to no pay.

"Oh Lakyus," The little princess she with a light fan of her hand as if to dismiss her friends concerns. "You worry too much! Besides, I have Brain and… C-Climb here with me, don't I?" She said with blushed cheeks and an upturned look at Climb who was standing slightly to the side of her.

"Y-yes, himesama! I will defend you with my life." Climb answered while saluting and straightening his back. He was similarly blushing and his entire face turned red from embarrassment. Tia, who was standing close to the table, turned her face away from and sighed heavily. This scene was a common one so her team couldn't fault her for her behaviour.

"Ara, ara, ara! What's this?" Rigrit exclaimed in a pleased voice. "The princess and the knight! Oh my, this is like a fairy tale!" She said in a teasing manner. The pair she referred to turned away from each other and nervously tried to play it off by laughing quietly.

"Ahem." Valjazeuz coughed once to settle the room. "Princess Renner, you have my gratitude but I also have something else I must ask of you, personally. I ask that you not spread this information needlessly and cause panic. That you only tell those who need to know such as the king."

"Of course!" Renner replied in a confident manner and readjusting herself into her regal persona. "You need not worry, sir Valjazeuz."

"Great!" Rigrit said while clapping her hands happily. "Well then, excuse us, Princess, we better get going." She said while she stood up from her seat. Her partner, next to her, also stood from his seat. "We have to formulate a plan to handle those tricky bastards, so if you would excuse us, we better get going." She bowed lightly to the princess and her partner did so also.

"Oh, very well. I wish you the best of luck in your battles." Renner replied with a light bow herself towards the legendary heroes. "Fare well! Climb, could you usher them out please?"

"Yes, himesama!" He said with a salute then joined the adventurers as they left the room. They said their goodbyes to each other as the adventurers left and now there was only a single person left in the room.

Or so most people would think. Renner knew because she was told beforehand that she would be paid a visit by one of her patron's servants. When the adventurers and Climb was well on their way out of the castle, a portion of the ceiling began to undulate and stretch out towards the ground.

It liked a giant slime had just dropped from the ceiling but then the gooey mass continued to undulate for a while. The gooey mass turned into a gorgeous blonde woman in a maid outfit with curly hair. She sat in a kneeling position. "So, what do you have for me?" Renner addressed the woman.

"Yes, Renner-himesama." The blonde woman said while presenting a folded letter to Renner. "Albedo-sama has ordered me to personally deliver this to you." Renner reached out and received the letter. "She also asks that you keep it in complete confidence and not tell anyone. These are the orders directly from the floor guardians."

"I see. Very well." Renner said breaking the seal on the envelope and reading the letter. "Return to the floor guardian-samas and tell them that I understand." She said to the maid who then stood and slipped through a tiny gab in the window and left the room. The gap couldn't have been wider than a few millimetres and yet the maid made it look effortless as she slipped through the crack.

Renner sat back in her seat at the coffee table and looked at the letter once again. Renner's face seemed to almost sag down and lost all life in her eyes. She wore an emotionless face and just calmly looked at the words written on the letter in front of her. This was her true face. The face she had never showed to anyone aside from marquis Raeven, her elder brother, Zanac, and Albedo.

The letter ordered Renner to try and find a certain person. She was given his name and description but nothing else to go on. It said that finding him was of the highest priority but should be kept completely confidential. All in all, this letter was very suspicious to Renner and piqued her intrigue.

Judging that this came from the content of the letter, Renner judged that this mission was ordered of the initiative of the floor guardians and not from Ainz. The letter also said to cooperate with the Eight Fingers to track down this mystery person. She thought that he may have been an evil deity who awakened because of the conversation she just had.

She wondered to herself who he could have been but one thing is for sure, he had something to do with the evil deities reawakening. They appeared at the same time after all. The letter also said that the emperor of the Baharuth Empire was notified about this and to work with him should it seem necessary.

Right now, Renner did not have enough information to read into the situation further. All she could do was keep a look out for this man and check on her information networks to see if they've seen or heard anything. She also had to tell her father about the evil deities reawakening and see if she could get the cooperation of the army and adventurers guild should they attack the city.

Renner silently leaned on the back of her chair and looked up towards the ceiling for a moment then look at the far side of the room. There sat a large bookshelf but she wasn't looking at it. She was looking past it to something else. She had made a small compartment behind the bookshelf where she kept the box she was rewarded by Ainz for her contributions to The Great Tomb of Nazarick. She silently stared at it through the bookshelf and wall that separated the two and silently wondered to herself. [ _Will I be forced to use you_?]


	7. Coalition - part 2

It was high noon and the sun rained light down upon the dusty dirt road Eukleides was walking on. Next to him was the vampire queen that holding the filthy slave girl in her arms as they walked toward the city of Re-Estize. The trees that had surrounded them were now replaced with open fields of grass since they had left the forest.

"What is your name, vampire queen?" Eukleides finally broke the silence and turned to look at the elf beside him. She wore a mask that covered the top half of her face but since her jaw hung loose, he could tell that she had a bewildered expression under the mask.

"Y-yes?" She replied in a confused tone.

"Hah… do not make me repeat myself, girl." Eukleides spoke in a deeper tone to illustrate his annoyance.

"M-my apologies! My name was Anya while I was still an elf, Eukleides-sama." She spoke in a shaky voice as she was just hit with a wave of bloodlust from her master.

"I see… What is a common name for a male elf?"

"M-master?" Anya questioned back.

"Before we enter the city, we must think of a cover-story, a falsified background. Thus, I will need a new name."

"Oh, I see! Forgive my ignorance, master. Would Roland be acceptable?"

"Roland will do. Now then, tell me all that you know about the countries. The one you came from in particular." Eukleides inquired.

"Yes, master, the country I am from…"

Eukleides listened inquisitively to each word Anya spoke, making sure to memorize everything he heard. This had been the entire reason he had attacked the caravan in the first place. With his [Predator's Vision], he could not only make out the outline of creatures but also see small details like the long pointed ears of an elf which was how he knew that Anya was in the second carriage.

Elves are a long-lived race that had a life span of several centuries which would make one think they were a wealth of knowledge, however, they had an isolation policy and their high pride did not allow them to intermingle with other races generally. There were exceptions to every rule and Anya was one of them. Because she was a slave and in her adulthood, she would have been forced to bear witness to the world and all its cruelty, whether she wanted to or not.

This was the reason Eukleides wanted to have her become a servant out of gratitude for saving her, however he did not foresee the condition she was in when he found her. He is not a charitable man by any measure of the word but he had no choice but to turn Anya into a servant by force after seeing her in such a sorry state. After all, what use would he have for an empty doll?

Also, by turning her, he would attain her complete and total obedience thus also attaining her knowledge which he would use to navigate this changed world. She would also be a loyal servant and add a layer to his disguise as she was an elf and he looked like a half-elf. The only downside to the arrangement was that he had to keep his side of the contract that they had agreed upon. He had assured her that he would assist in her revenge against those who wronged her which would cost him time but he was a man of his word as his pride did not allow him to break his promises.

They conversed in great detail about the continent and the countries within. He also learned quite a bit about the geo-politics between these countries and their relation to one another. Surprisingly, it would seem that Anya held a deep animosity for her own country as well as the Slane Theocracy, which was their national enemy and the reason that elves were becoming slaves.

She originally came from the Elf Country which is located south of the Slane Theocracy, deep within the Great Forest of Evasha. Currently, the two countries were engaging in a war of extermination as the Slane Theocracy believed in human supremacy above all else and also because of the betrayal the elven king committed against the theocracy. It would seem that the humans were winning that war and the elven king was doing nothing to stop it.

She was made into a slave and sold to Baron Strosse but because of recent developments, which she was not aware of, the baron was forced to flee from the Baharuth Empire and was seeking refuge at the Re-Estize Kingdom. That was until Eukleides encountered them.

"I see… then we will use that as the cover-story. You were a slave whom I freed from the Baharuth Kingdom and now we are seeking work as adventurers to fund our endeavours. The caravan was attacked by monsters and everyone had died long before we arrived except for the slaves because they were housed in an iron cage.

We freed them but this girl was too weak to walk so we decided to carry her to the city. Remember, you must address me as Roland and you are not my servant but my partner. Address me casually like you would a friend." Eukleides said while pointing at the young, sleeping girl that was caked in mud and filth.

"Yes, I understand." Anya replied in a confident voice in acknowledgement. "It may be presumptuous but please allow me to ask, why are we bringing this girl along, Roland-sama?"

"Just Roland will do." He corrected her. "No reason in particular, she simply caught my interest. After all, she did succeed in my test so I have to reward her. I will grant her a single wish and that will be all."

This was all simply excuses on Eukleides part. It was the only way he could rationalize why he had acted so irrationally. The girl reminded him of his past and he despised it. He always had a soft spot for weak and vulnerable children for this very reason. If he could forget his past, he would want nothing more but his memory would not let him and would remind him at the most inopportune times.

After that, silence resumed as the duo made their way to the north-most city gate. A line of carriages and people were waiting to be processed by guards in front of it. Most of them seemed to be peasants and villagers but Eukleides could make a few people dressed as adventurers and also a single high-end carriage that probably belonged to a noble. The slaves that he had freed were already waiting in line and waiting to enter the city.

Eukleides walked up to one of these slaves and walked in front of her to look her right in her eyes. "Do you know who I am?" He said while staring deep into her eyes. Her eyes were glazed over and dimly shone red.

"No, I have to go to the city." She replied lifelessly in a flat tone.

"Yes, you do." He walked back to the Anya and quietly waited to be processed. "Be sure to remember our cover-story, girl." Eukleides said without even turning in her direction as he flipped on the hood of his dark-green mantle.

"Yes, I understand, Roland." She replied confidently while adjusting the little girl, who slept in her arms, into a more comfortable position. Thankfully, the line was moving quickly and it didn't take too long until the trio reached the city gates.

Eukleides spoke on behalf of the group and explained their circumstances to the city guards. The cover-story was easily believable as the freed slaves had entered the city before them and the guards had no reason to doubt it. Eukleides pointed towards the direction they had come from to show the guards where the attacked caravan rested when the guards asked for the location and the trio were soon on their way.

Because Eukleides is primarily a physical damage fighter, he lacked many useful utility type magic such as disguise magic and stealth magic, thus he had learned to fool people with his acting skills. One of the more amusing memories from his time in Yggdrasil was when he put on a full body penguin costume and managed to convince a party of three humans into helping him farm for data-crystals. He then started a large monster train and wiped out the entire party with it so that he could claim their dropped equipment.

They entered through the large iron gates and walked into the bustling city. They were surrounded on all sides by people going about their daily lives and walking through the streets. "The first priority is to secure proper lodgings. They must both be clean and have a good level of security." Eukleides stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "Preferably one with a bath and good food as well. It would seem we will need to look in areas that are closer to the centre of the city."

Just as Eukleides said, the city was split into four districts in each of its cardinal directions with the Valencia Palace sitting at its centre. As one drew closer to the centre of the city, the level of security as well as the quality of products would increase. They followed the main road until a rather large three-storey building entered the view of Eukleides.

The building was mainly built out of stone with timber features. It was the largest building in the area and dwarfed other buildings. Not only was it built high, it was also built wide so that it could accommodate a lot of people. The sign that hung above the wide-open double doors at its entrance depicted a sword and shield crossing one another. Judging by the people walking in and out of the building, it would seem that Eukleides had found one of his goals.

He calmly turned from walking down the street and headed towards the building after signing to Anya to follow him. When they stepped inside, they were greeted with the site of a massive hall full to the brim with people. They all had various armaments on and was either staring at a large board on the left side of the build that had scraps of paper littered all over it or on the right side of the build that seemed to be a tavern.

Eukleides walked straight forward confidently towards the reception while ignoring all the staring and jeers from his sides. When he arrived, he flashed a charming smile at the receptionist who looked to be a woman in her early twenties and asked her, "This is the adventurer's guild, right?" The woman looked bewildered for a moment before clearing her throat with a single cough.

"That's right, how can I help you?" She smiled back at Eukleides with blushed cheeks. It was very rare for someone so handsome to walk into the adventurer's guild as usually; it would be big burly men with unkempt hair and terrible hygiene or people that looked like the very definition of suspicious. She would often lament the fact that she was still single after so long but now, she was thankful for her picky habits.

"I would like to become an adventurer. How does one go about doing that?" Eukleides asked in the most harmless and polite way he could muster. The receptionist once again gave him a bewildered look.

"Y-you want to become an adventurer?" She asked in a confused voice. No matter how she looked at Eukleides, he did not give off the feeling of being brawler like most adventurers gave off.

Even with all his armour and weapons she could see on him, he did not give off an intimidating aura one would usually expect from people wanting to become an adventurer. In fact, because he was so handsome and well-mannered, if someone had told her he was a noble, she would find it hard to argue with that. This made her all the more confused.

"That is correct." Eukleides answered with another smile. "I and my companion here just arrived in this city and since we are short on money, we are looking for work." He said while gesturing at Anya to step up to the counter. She did as she was told and walked forward a little to stand beside Eukleides, with the girl still sleeping in her arms.

"I-is that girl a slave?" The receptionist asked in a concerned manner after looking at the filthy little girl in the arms of Anya.

"It would be more correct to say that she _was_ a slave. Anya and I found her outside the city on our way here and we couldn't just leave her like that." Eukleides said while putting on a sad face and frowning as he turned his head slightly to look at the sleeping girl.

"You should have seen her. She was covered in cuts and bruises when we originally found her lying on the dirt all by herself. We ended up spending most of our money on getting her healed which brought us here. We need to make money and fast or else… we might not be able to support her…" Eukleides spoke in a teary voice as he bowed his head slightly and stared at the ground.

"My god!" The young receptionist exclaimed in shock as she guessed the intentions of Eukleides. It was not rare for people to abandon their children when they are in financial straits. She was also impressed by the kindness of Eukleides and Anya as most people in their situation would have just left the young girl to die rather than becoming bankrupt after having her wounds healed. The receptionist was well aware of the extortionist prices the temples would charge to heal people as she works with adventurers.

"Honestly, I would have preferred a different line of profession but beggars cannot be choosers." He said while lowering the hood off his head, revealing his pointed ear to the receptionist. "And half-bloods don't have many options." The surroundings raised audible gasps as most of them looked towards Eukleides. They all began to whisper loudly to one another.

"Don't worry about a thing!" The receptionist said confidently as she shot angry looks at the adventurers who were staring, making them all turn away. "Here are the registration forms. I'll wave the registration fee." She said with a wink as she pulled out two pieces of paper from beneath the counter top. "You just need to fill these out and I'll present you with your plates."

Eukleides maintained his calm, smiling appearance while talking to the receptionist but internally, he was patting himself on the back and made a smug face because of how well his plans had worked out. He began to reach down to receive the registration forms and froze.

Eukleides blankly stared at the two pieces of papers. [ _Damn it! After coming all this way, I get defeated by my_ _illiteracy! When did they stop using the draconic language?!_ ] He thought to himself as he suffered internally. It was then that Anya stepped forward and received the pen the receptionist had presented and began to fill out the form with one hand while carrying the girl in the other. [ _Fill out my one as well while I gather more information out of this girl._ ] He said telepathically to his summon and she replied by nodding her head slightly.

With the disaster averted and him retaining his pride, he continued to talk to the receptionist leisurely about the city. Turning on his charisma to maximum, he asked her questions such as where a suitable inn for them was. The receptionist, in turn, gave Eukleides an incredibly long lecture about adventurer conduct and information on the many ranks as well as details on the danger level ratings of requests.

By the time the receptionist stopped speaking, the forms had been long completed and Eukleides was fighting the urge to fall asleep while maintaining his business smile. The receptionist took the forms and soon returned with two copper necklaces and handed them over to the duo. As Eukleides wanted to escape as quickly as he could, they said their farewells and left the guild building.

Eukleides swallowed down the sigh he wanted to vent and turned to Anya. "With that done, we will need to secure our lodgings. Follow me." He said to her and continued to walk down the street. The receptionist had told Eukleides to continue walking on the street until he saw a building with a red roof.

It didn't take them even five minutes to reach the destination. A two storey building with a red roof and a sign hanging above the front door that read "Little Hamlet". When they walked inside, they were greeted by a middle-aged woman that had a stocky body.

"Hey there, looking for a room?" She said to the trio in a deep, raspy voice that you would expect from a smoker. Sure enough, she had a long pipe in her left hand that had smoke rising from its end.

"Two rooms in fact, one for me and one for the girls." Eukleides replied to the inn keeper. She nodded in response and brought out a thick parchment book from under the counter that was loosely bound with twine.

"Sure thing, it's five silver per room each day if you want breakfast in the mornings and using the bath is free. How long are you planning to stay?" She said to Eukleides as she brought out a pen and was ready to write in his details.

"For now, just two days." He replied while handing over ten silver coins. He made it look like he was reaching into his trouser pockets but he was actually reaching into his inventory to retrieve the coins.

"This is a pretty expensive inn for copper adventurers, you know. Are you sure?" The inn keeper said to him in a suspicious tone.

"We're confident in our abilities and the only reason we're copper ranked is because we just registered. That and… there is no substitute for a warm bath after a long day." He replied with a smile.

"Well I can't argue with that but you sure seem cocky, kid." She said to him while flashing him a teasing look like she was staring at two amateurs. "I'll say this just in case, readiness is an adventurer's best friend and overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer." She said while giving him a wink and handing over two sets of keys.

"Thank you for the advice! I'll take it to heart." Eukleides took the two keys from the inn keeper and walked up the stair on the left side of the counter. The first floor of the inn served as a tavern and the bath house sat towards the back of the build on the opposite side of the counter from the stairs. The second floor of the building was where the rooms were.

"Come inside and put the girl on the bed." Eukleides said to Anya while he unlocked the door to a room with one of the keys. They entered and Anya did as she was told. As you would expect from a middle-class inn, everything was squeaky clean and had sparse furniture within the room.

A simple single bed at the corner of the room and a desk with a chair sat of the opposite side. Eukleides opened the basic wooden window and light filled the room with a dim orange glow as the sun had begun to set. Eukleides sat on the chair that he turned to face the bed and addressed Anya.

"This is adequate." He said while looking all around the room. "The next order of business is to secure information."

"I beg your forgiveness, Roland-sama, could you please elaborate? I am certain I have told you all that I could about this continent." Anya sat on the side of the bed where she had laid the young girl to sleep and faced towards Eukleides who sat on the chair.

"The issue is that your information is old." He said bluntly. "You've been a slave for quite some time and thus have missed the recent goings-on in the world. This is the information we must secure."

"I see…"

"That girl is not likely to wake up for the rest of the day so we will leave her here and go out to find information." He said while looking over to the still sleeping girl. "I will go to a local tavern to conserve with the common people there while you will be on your own."

"What will you have me do, master?" Anya said while tilting to her to the side and had a confused expression on. Eukleides stood up from his chair and walked over to her. Since Anya was still sitting on the bedside, Eukleides towered over her but he then bent down and leaned in close to her ear.

"Acquire information the _special_ way that only women can, my little temptress." He said to her in a hushed tone. He looked through her mask, at her eyes, as he gave her a sweet smile conveying a tranquil aura while his words were poison. "Come now, Anya-chan, let us go."

Eukleides handed over the key to the room to Anya and walked out of the room. Still bewildered by the order of her master, Anya sat there motionlessly for a moment before rushing out of the room and locking the door behind her. Eukleides had given her a second chance at life and as per their contract; this life now belonged to him.

Anya was prepared to do anything her master wished if it meant she would have her vengeance.

Vengeance upon the elven king.


	8. Coalition - part 3

Lakyus Aindra continued to stroll through the streets of Re-Estize towards the most expensive inn in the city. The inn she was staying at with the rest of her team who was walking slightly behind while chatting to one another merrily. There were two other people walking alongside them. The famous necromancer, Rigrit Bers Caurau, and the legendary swordsman, Valjazeuz, held a steady pace while also leisurely talking to the team.

Lakyus could hear the clamouring and shuffling cacophony that was the interior of the inn from the courtyard and it filled her with a sense of relief. Ever since the Sorcerer Kingdom was found by that dreaded undead king, the citizens of the city seemed to have the life sucked out of them from the rumours that have spread from the returning nobles and businessmen. Even being the leader of Blue Rose, heralded as the most elite among humanity, she and her team could not hope to confront the Sorcerer King nor his army and come away with their lives.

The sense of powerlessness and vulnerability that she felt must have been many times more for the general populous, however, the familiar sounds of the chaotic tavern within the inn reminded her that though the lights of the kingdom may have dimmed, it was not completely out. The group pushed though the open double-doors and the interior instantly chilled over.

Everyone, including the barmaids and bartenders, turned to look in their direction when they entered. Seeing Blue Rose within the inn was a common sight as they stayed there however the eyes of the people seemed to drift towards the two people who were with her party. Lakyus and her group just continued to mind their own business and walk to an empty table at the far side of the inn.

When they finally sat down, a barmaid ran over to their table and started taking their orders. Everyone except Evileye and Valjazeuz ordered food and drinks. Gagaran dwarfed the others orders as she just continued to spit out order after order of meat. This is not an uncommon occurrence.

"You're going to bankrupt us with your appetite, muscles for brains." Evileye said coldly to Gagaran.

"A beautiful lady like me has to eat or else I might end up like you, Shorty."

"I'm not sure if you can call what you're doing "eating"."

"Ha! If you're complaining about me eating too much, take a gander over there." Gagaran said as she pointed to the far side of the inn from their table. There sat a person with a dark-green hood on and he was literally shovelling food into his mouth at an incredible speed. The table he sat alone on had a mountain of plates and mugs on it. "I won't lose!" She (?) shouted with determination in the direction of the person.

"No, it's not like competition or anything…" Evileye said in defeat as she clutched her mask.

"Ease up, cry-baby! Shouldn't this be a celebration? I'm back, you know!" Rigrit said while nudge Evileye with her elbow.

"Don't call me that!" Evileye furiously shouted back.

"Guhahaha!" Rigrit laughed like a child whose mischievous prank worked.

"Hahaha, alright, alright. Calm down now guys." Lakyus said to draw in the attention of her party. "We have more serious things to talk about, don't we?" She turned to give Valjazeuz a slight nod. He nodded back in acknowledgement and began to talk.

"Evileye, if you would." He said and she nodded back. Evileye reached under her deep-red cloak and fiddled with a talisman. As she did so, an invisible veil surrounded the entire table. "Thank you, Keeno. Now then, as I said before, the Evil Deities have reawakened but that is not all."

"You see, Tsar-kun here can sense when new god and players enter the world." Rigrit interjected. The table fell silent as the members of Blue Rose tried to process what their old friend had just said. They looked at one another to see each other's reactions and were met with a myriad of expression ranging from confusion to concern.

"That's right." Tsar continued. "Every time the Earthen Pulse trembles, new beings come into the world… Like our old comrades." The mood turned solemn as Tsar and Rigrit reminisced about their previous battles against the Demon Gods with the legendary figures that was their allies.

"They were good guys…" Rigrit said remorsefully.

"I see… but why tell us now?" Lakyus inquired on behalf of the still befuddled party.

"The Earthen Pulse has trembled twice in such a short time. I even went out into the world again just to find the new arrivals. That's how this happened." Tsar said pointing to the shoulder of his shimmering armour. Said armour had a large dent in its shoulder even after being repaired and signs of wear and tear were evident all over it.

"WAS IT A DEMON THAT DID THAT?! WAS IT'S NAME JALDABAOTH?" Evileye shouted while almost leaping out of her seat and lunging onto the table.

"No, it was a vampire from what I've heard and I could feel the malice that leaked out of it like a flood. I did hear that someone had defeated it though."

"Momon, right? From the adamantite party, Darkness." Rigrit added. "Seriously, all these monsters showing up out of nowhere. He's most likely a player or at the very least, an awakened godkin."

"It wasn't a demon with a tail and bat wings?" Lakyus asked again.

"No, it wasn't… but now that you mention it. We did hear about what happened here. Are you guys okay?" Tsar asked in a concerned voice. He and Rigrit had chatted up a couple more prominent people in the city to get information on the recent events and what they heard, stunned them, to say the least. They had heard about the death and subsequent revival of two of the Blue Rose members.

"Ha! It was just a scratch!" Gagaran said while pausing her eating.

"To be honest, I'm more scared of our oni-leader working us to death while grinding for experience." Tia commented in a nonchalant voice, trying to loosen up the tension in the air.

"What was that, Tia?" Lakyus said while turning to face her party member. She had a full-faced smile but her eyes were not smiling and darkness seemed to be emanating from her back. This prompted Tia and her twin sister to quickly turn away from their leader.

"Jaldabaoth, huh? Hey Tsar, you think he's a new arrival?" Rigrit ignored the squabbling of her old teammates and asked.

"Most likely. I have never even heard of or seen a Jaldabaoth before. Him being that powerful of a demon, I'm sure that I would've at least heard of him. Well…I can't be certain but I would think so."

"You think he could have had something to do with the tremors of the Earthen Pulse?"

"The recent one maybe but we just don't know enough to make a judgement either way. What we do know with full certainty is that the Demon Gods we sealed away all that time ago are moving again."

"Yeah."

"Listen up." Tsar said in a stern voice while placing a map of the continent on the table and pointing to it. "Here are the reports I've been getting about the Four's awakening. Demon God Boulder we sealed to the far south-east has been destroying beastman settlements and has been pushing them further inland."

"The war between the beastman and the Dragon Kingdom has intensified and now the kingdom is on the verge of annihilation." Rigrit added.

"Demon God Vilemaw has been spotted in the deep south-west, in the Forest of Evasha."

"The elves and the theocracy are in for one hell of a surprise." Rigrit once again supplemented in a humoured tone. She could never agree with the Slane Theocracy. Both on a personal and philosophical level. After all, her form of magic was taboo to them and is considered heresy.

"Demon God Gul'Shatoth has appeared on the northern shores of Seachild. He's wrecking havoc and destroying everything in his way."

"If he gets a chance to build up his army again, he's going to be a pain in the ass…" Rigrit sighed.

"And finally, Demon God Quelmeer was spotted to the far west but there's been nothing more since." Tsar said with a tinge of worry in his voice.

"What do you mean?" Lakyus enquired.

"Well, the west has been chaotic to say the least and scouting attempts have been snuffed out. That Jaldabaoth demon you mention before appeared and he seems to be attacking the Holy Kingdom of Roble."

"""What?!""" The members of Blue Rose all exclaimed loudly.

"That bastard…" Lakyus said while clenching her fists tightly and grinding her teeth in anger. Fury seeped from every pore of her being and turned her face into a terrifying scowl.

"I know what you want to say and I too also want to hurry over and fight him but that would be irresponsible. If we are to do things, we should do them properly or else the consequences would be catastrophic." Tsar warned the party.

"If we leave Gul'Shatoth alone for too long, he'll raise an army and be ten times as hard to fight later on. Boulder also needs to be dealt with as soon as possible or it will be the end of the Dragon Kingdom. I don't want that girl to do anything stupid." He said as he thought back to a distant memory.

One where he met a young girl and was told that she was a ruler of a nation. It was laughable then but not so much anymore when the lives of her citizens were on the line. He didn't want to think about what would happen if that young girl were to use her ability irresponsibly.

"Those should be our priorities for now." He said to the table. "The Slane Theocracy should be able to hold their own against Vilemaw and Roble will most likely receive assistance from the theocracy so they should be able to hold out for a while as well."

"I agree with Tsar-kun." Rigrit reassured the group. "We should take care of Gul'Shatoth first since if we all fight him head on now, we'll win hands down. It's basically guaranteed since he won't have _that_ big of an army if we hurry." She said nonchalantly while talking about one of the most feared existences in the world.

"Hah…" Lakyus heaved a deep sigh. "Yeah, you're right. Very well, let's go north first. My uncle's up there so we should meet up with him and see if he'll be willing to help us."

"Good idea." Tsar nodded in agreement. He was well aware of the famed armour her uncle wore and was curious to see it for himself.

"You two still need to grind more experience right?" Rigrit asked Tia and Gagaran. The two looked frightened and sat straight up. Small beads of sweat ran down along their cheeks. Their mouth hung open but before they could say anything, Lakyus spoke first.

"That's right! Why don't you and Tsar-sama take these two out tomorrow and help them out?" She said with a sweet smile spreading across her face like a blossoming flower.

"Sure, why not! Guhahaha! It'll be just like old times, I bet you two missed me!" Rigrit laughed loudly and a large smile on her face as well.

""Oni-leader…"" The two spoke in a defeated manner while their upper bodies slumped.

"Tomorrow I'll inform the princess about our plans. Tina, you'll be in charge of getting the supplies for the trip. Make sure you get plenty of healing potions from the temples." Lakyus said while ignoring the complaints from her sides.

"Yeah, yeah." Tina replied with a lazy wave of her hand.

"Now then, with business out of the way… Let's drink!" Rigrit said while hoisting her mug full of ale high into the air. The rest of the table (aside from Keeno and Tsar) lifted their glasses as well, and clunk them together.

"""Cheers!"""

…

The welcoming-back, drinking party continued well into the night. The chattering and minor bickering back and forth only came to an end when Gagaran began to convulse. She had eaten and drank far too much in her competition against the robed gentleman from across the room and began to shake back and forth trying to hold it all down.

"Get a hold of yourself, Gagaran." Lakyus said while holding her drunken teammate up with the help of Tia and Tina.

"I'm okay…*hick*… I'm fine, what are you worri-URGH!"

"Hah… Let's get back to our rooms. Why did you have to drink so much?"

"It's not my fault! That guy is-…" Gagaran grumbled while she tried her best to point in the direction of the man she was competing with but found that he had already left. The only thing left was a staggering mountain of empty plates and cups.

"You're pretty well off for a copper plate, aye? Hey, why don't you hand over some coins our way?" Gagaran's and her party's sight shifted from the table to the entrance of the inn. The deep, raspy voice they heard came from a tall, drunk man. Judging by his attire, it was plainly obvious he was an adventurer.

"It's not for free of course! We'll show you around the ropes and teach you some handy things, you know. Isn't that right lads? Haha!" Lakyus could see a glint of a golden plate hanging around the drunken man's neck as four other men stood up and surrounded a single figure.

"Hey, isn't that-" Gagaran began to say in a slurred voice before Lakyus interrupted.

"Yeah, it is." To any bystander, it was obvious what was happening right now. Some people stared on in disgust while others turned to face another direction and continue their business.

A single man in a green mantle was being shaken down for his money right in front of them which was rather blazon to say the least but they were also in various states of inebriation thus none stood in his defence. Gagaran tried to wrestle herself out of the supporting arms of her team to help the man but before she could, Tsar darted across the room with inhuman speed and placed himself between the man and the assailants.

"Don't you think you've had a bit too much to drink? I suggest you return home before you are _sent_ home. Do you understand?" Valjazeuz said to the drunken, gold-ranked adventurer and his party.

"ANGH?! Who the hell are you, bastard?" The adventurer said in a furious voice while putting his face within breathing distance of Val's.

"I also suggest you back down." Lakyus approached the group from behind Val and stood beside him.

"B-Blue Rose?!" The drunken adventurer took a step back and gulped down his own words. "H-Hey, I don't want any trouble alright? I was just trying to help a rookie!" He said to Lakyus as he and his men returned to the seats.

Val and Lakyus then turned to face the man who was being hustled. "Well, well. How could I ever thank you for your help there?" He spoke in a mildly mocking voice as he addressed the two.

"Wha-" Lakyus as going to ask the man, what is problem was when she was interrupted by and extended hand from Valjazeuz that stood beside her. He placed himself between Lakyus and the man and spoke in a humble tone.

"I do not need to be thanked for this gesture but if you are feeling so inclined, why not join our party for tomorrow?" Val said to the man.

"Oh?" He replied to Val in a suspicious voice.

"We're going to take a few requests tomorrow and we would be very thankful for an extra pair of hands. That is, if you are willing to join us." Valjazeuz spoke politely and extended his hand to the man. The man returned the hand shake and said:

"Sure, why not? My name is Roland."

"I am Valjazeuz and this is Lakyus. It is very nice to meet you, Roland-san. If it would be convenient, would you like to meet up tomorrow at the Adventurer's Guild in the morning?"

"Alright, I'll be there at sun up. Don't make me wait!" Roland said to the two as he waved goodbye to them while walking through the double door of the inn.

"Even after you help him, what's with his attitude?" Lakyus grumbled as she crossed her arms and watched Roland leave.

"Ahh, Val-kun, you know you're just good for you own good. Always helping people and stuff…*hick*" Rigrit said while throwing an arm around Val's shoulders and giving him a soft nudge as if to tease him. She was also tipsy from drinking all night.

"Is that what you think I was doing?" Val said back to Rigrit.

"Hmm… What do you mean?"

"That man, Roland, I wasn't saving him. I was saving those five guys." He said while nodding his head slightly in the direction of the men who tried to rob Roland. Rigrit just crinkled her face and shot a questioning look back at Valjazeuz.

"I don't understand." Lakyus spoke up as the rest of her party walked up behind her.

"You didn't see it? To me, it looked like Roland was about to devour those five men completely." Val paused slightly and turned to look Lakyus directly in her eyes. "I'm not sure but… My instincts tell me that he's dangerous. His back may have looked small in comparison to the other men, but to me, it looked bigger than a mountain."

"Then why did you invite him to join us?" Rigrit asked while poking Val's helmet with her finger.

"I want to keep him in my sights. Would you rather we let a possibly dangerous man walking around the city doing god knows what? It's better this way."

"Well, you're instincts have very rarely steered us in the wrong direction. Why not? Now carry me to our room." Rigrit said while hopping onto Val's back in a piggyback position.

"Hah…" Val grumbled under his breath but did as she said nonetheless. Lakyus and the rest of Blue Rose followed suite and walked to the bedrooms in the inn. She chose not to question Valjazeuz further as she struggled to help Gagaran up the stair of the inn.

The difference in size between her and Gagaran only added to her labours. Even with the help of the rest of the party, lifting her up the stairs was a struggle and half. It was in their best interest to get a full night's sleep tonight.

They would need it if they wanted to survive the next day.

 **Author's Note**

I just wanted to take a second and say I'm really sorry about the super late update. I have no excuses so please accept my honest apologizes!

With this part, it's going to be only one more part until the end of this chapter. It's getting pretty exciting huh?

Sorry for the lack of our one and only great Overlord Ainz but that's going to be for next chapter! Please look forward to it!


	9. A Time to Learn

Were all nights as foreboding as this one? Was it the hoot of an owl or the rustling of shuffling feet in the shadows that unsettled Charter Lombardy? As the new leader of the security department of the Eight Fingers, he usually felt secure within these back streets and slums as he grew up as a street rat.

This was his neighborhood and backyard. His home. Nevertheless, an eerie dread hung over him tonight. He walked these street with a most reliable bodyguard but the unease consumed him. His steps hastened faster to the location of this travel. His lair.

It was not until he turned a corner to a darkened alley, were his fears menifest. What he saw froze his feet to the ground and stifled any exclamation of shock. Was that fortunate or unfortunate?

Only time reveals all things.

"What the hell is that!?" Charter thought to himself. "A monster in the middle of the capital? Impossible!" He tried to shake sanity into his mind but the fear only grew deeper.

What did he see? Was it a monster consuming a meal with great zeal or was it a maiden veiled in black that danced in the blood that glided around her? He was horrified but at the same time, mystified.

They made eye contact.

"Ah, master did say that I need practice feeding. To think it would be this messy." She shook her head. "This will not do. I must be more diligent."

"What the hell is it saying!?" Charter almost shouted as a great blackened creature leapt from his shadow stood in front of him. His bodyguard.

A Shadow Lurker. A gift from the new bosses of the Eight Fingers bestowed to the department leaders. A level 40 demon with skills in physical attacks and stealth. It hissed and gnashed it's sharpened, saw-like teeth at the monster.

"That is not a human." She said aloud as a small flame appeared on the palm of her hand. "Then I don't need it. [Flame Pillar]"

A flame erupted from the Shadow Lurkers feet. It leapt to evade the emmense pillar of fire and dashed into a shadow. Night was it's friend. Phasing from one shadow to another, it circled it's prey. Sharp claws and teeth were at the ready as it targeted the enemy's neck from behind.

"Fast." The monster deftly swivelled on her heels and clasped her hand firmly on the Shadow Lurker's neck. "But I am faster." With a sharp jolt, the Shadow Lurker's body shook and a sickening crunch was audible.

It fell limp on the ground and the monster lightly shook it's wrist. "Tsk. Cunning little bastard." An inky-dark red droplet dripped from her forearm. "Took a swipe at me at the last moment."

Charter witnessed the battle (if it could be called that) but did not believe his eyes. The bodyguard he was given that could rival an entire adamantite party was thwarted by that monster with only a feeble amount of resistance. As he watched the Shadow Lurker slowly vanish in a dark mist, the wound he saw on the monster's forearm similarly closed as if the whole fight was all within his imagination.

"Now then." Anya said as she turned her glowing red eyes to Charter. "What to do with you." She took a single step forward his direction.

"Wait!" Charter shouted. He mustered all his courage and thought of a way out of this situation. His mind ran a mile a second as he quickly thought of what to say next. "P-please just wait! What is it that you want? I can help you! Want gold? Or maybe people!? I can do anything!"

Anya stopped moving towards him and Charter seized the opportunity. "T-that's right! I'm a very famous person around this city, you know! Just tell me what you need and I'll get it for you!" His speech was stammered and fast but fluid. Perhaps it was his virtue because his quick tongue had saved him a great many times before.

"Anything?" She replied with a coy tilt of her head.

"Yes!" He answered without pause.

"Tell me what you know."

"Of course! I'll tell you anything! What do you want to know?" Sweat dripped from his temples and his hands shook terribly.

"Everything." Anya whispered. Charter's mind raced so fast that he did not even recognize what was happening to him before it was too late. His breath evened out and his vision was hazy. "You're my friend, aren't you?"

Her words drifted through the air like a sweet lullaby to Charter's ears. Eyes gleaming delight and lips wet with anticipation, she spoke every word like a curse. Putting her newfound abilities to the task.

"Well, certainly. We've always been friends. I'll let you in on some juicy gossip I picked up."

"Thank you." Anya's lips curved into a crescent.

"Such meager offerings. Though I can not rightfully say I expected much else from pygmies." Eukleides stood atop five corpses, bathed in the gentle glow of the early sun. "Really. Even rats know better than to challenge lions. Does this not make you Cretans even worse than rats?"

Streams of blood swirled in the air around him. His black, branch-like wings protruded from his back and greedily consumed all the blood fed to it. Having been released from his imprisonment after literal ages, he now lacked sufficient blood pool levels to activate a good majority of his race specific abilities.

"Until I find larger prey, this will have to do. Where are those damned winged lizards when you need them. Utterly useless." He stepped off the bodies of the ruffians he encountered at the local tavern he visited the night before and lightly dusted off his cloak as he retracted his wings.

"Speaking of winged lizards. That empty tin can stank of that foul soul magic they harness." He thought to himself. "I see even dragons have learnt a thing or two."

He turned a corner and entered the main street of the city. Walking at a meandering pace, he observed that even before the sun had risen, there were people going about their daily chores. Hanging out washing, rushing to grocers and washing their faces from wells.

Such was the life of simple folk. Their faces portray a distance yearning but was also shadowed with forlorn. Faces like these were common even before he was sealed. He wandered to himself, were these truly the faces of people with a future or were they simply going about the motions of living for the sake of living.

The sun had risen enough to colour the sky in a bright orange radiance by the time he reached the steps of the adventurer's guild. He entered with his hood still hanging over his face which drew attention to him as he unhurriedly sat on the closest coach.

"I said sun rise but did not elaborate, now I have to wait." He sighed inwardly while tapping his finger on the armrest. He had ventured here to meet with the adamantite party he encountered the night before.

Having listened to their conversation, he had learnt a great many things. What piqued his interest most was their talk of demon gods. If utilized, this information may very well be worth every gold coin he spent last night at the tavern.

"Hah… because my blood levels are so low, I had gorge myself on food yesterday wasting a lot of sorely needed capital." He thought to himself. Unlike certain heteromorphic races, he still had to eat food and consume drink to sustain himself. He also had to consume blood as he was a type of higher vampire.

If he had neglected these requirements, he would feel sluggish and weaker. If he continued to ignore these issues, he could even suffer heavy stat penalties. His lack of blood reserves menifest themselves yesterday in the form of an almost never ending appetite.

He sighed again while thinking about it when the door to the guild swung open. Five people walked through room with an air of dominance. Confidence only seen from people who survived battles with their lives at stake.

A ninja with a bright, blue ribbon in her deep, blonde hair pointed to Eukleides and the entire group made their way to him. He stood from his lazy, posture on the coach to greet them. Though he was irritated for having to wait, it did not take them long to arrive so he disregarded it.

"Yo, half-elf-kun. Did you miss me last night?" Gagaran approached with a beeming smile and a playful wink.

"It is a pleasure to see you again. I've spent some time and learnt quite a bit of your heroism. Pardon my crassness last night." Eukleides evaded.

"We apologize for being late. I hope we did not make you wait long, Roland-san." Tsar addressed him.

"Not at all." He said with an air of nonchalance but internally, he was practically fuming with irritation. "I'm curios about what you have planned for today. If I am to be completely honest, it has been some time since I've done anything like adventuring. I hope I do not hold you back."

"Ah~, we'll be fine." Rigrit waved away his concerns. "I just hope they've got some good jobs to do. Let's go check." She then ushered the group to the massive bulletin board and began perusing the many quest offers on it.

They were now the center of attention of everyone in the building. Head swivelled to take a gander at them while wild whispers could heard from all sides. Many of the whispers pertained to the identity of Val and Rigrit while others whispered about why a copper plate was in a party of adamantite plates.

"Ara~, looks like we have a good one!" Rigrit said as she ripped a sheet of parchment off the board.

"Hm?" Lakyus inquired while leaning in to read it. "A caravan was attacked and destroyed by monsters along the northern main road. That is concerning."

It was very rare for there to be monster encounters so close to human civilization, let alone on such a busy road. Lakyus surmised it was most likely a new monster infestation or something had happened in the northern forest to push these creatures further south. Either way, this could not be left unanswered.

"A possible monster infestation! Perfect for grinding experience! Ahahaha!" Rigrit exclaimed. Tia sighed deeply and rolled her eyes. She had been in many "experience grinding" ventures with Rigrit and each time, they had left her on the verge collapse.

"Cheer up, Tia! It won't be that bad! Probably…" Gagaran patted her shoulders in a shallow attempt to comfort her. "Besides, we have a new guy here to keep things interesting!"

"How's about it, Roland-kun? Feeling up for it?"

"Of course." Eukleides replied in a curt manner to Rigrit.

"Then we are all in agreement. Let us not tarry." Val took the parchment in hand. "I'll go inform the reception."

As Tsar was walking away, Rigrit turned to look at Eukleides. "Son, you've come rather under prepared. How's about a little shopping before we set off?"

"I think I'm rather well prepared. Is there something I've forgotten?"

"Well~, your gear would be fine if we were just going out then coming back to city but, you see, the thing about monster infestation missions is that it usually takes a few days." Rigrit said with a look not too dissimilar to that of a teacher lecturing her class.

"One day to scout out the area and see what's happening while setting up a base. Then at least one more day actually fighting while, if it's a large monster infestation, it could take even more time. During which, we can't restock supplies should we run out. Which is why it's best to have at least a week's worth of rations, just in case."

"I see." Eukleides nodded his head in comprehension. "Sounds good to me."

"Good! Let's get going then. Hey, I'll introduce you to some nice girls I know. They have the best dried, honeyed fish you'll ever have!" Rigrit beamed.

"I'll look forward to that." He smiled back.

The entire time they conversed, Lakyus had been spying Eukleides from the corner of her eye. Sizing him up. She sensed something off about him and now, the things Tsar said about him last night was gnawing at her thoughts. The more she looked and scrutinized though, the more her confidence waned.

Was this just needless worry on her part? Just wild paranoia from her general distrust towards the opposite sex perhaps. Something just did not sit right with her but at the same time, she was not about to throw out baseless accusations. What she needed was evidence to support her wondering speculations.

And perhaps, she would find it.

"Here it is, Ainz-sama." Demiurge said from his kneeling position in from of him.

"How did this happen." He thought to himself before heaving a long internal sigh once again. He had just returned from reassuring the dwarfs about their safety a moment ago when he was contact by Demiurge about an issue that arose. Complications seem to be popping up one after another recently and was entirely draining Ainz.

"This is the creature I informed you of. A relic of the past. Perhaps she can ruminate some of this worlds mysteries."

"Umu."

What sat before him was a horribly crippled Arachne Magus. A monster with the body of a spider but the torso of a human. From the anatomy of the human aspects of the creature, one could surmise that it was a female of their species. Aside was the two extra pairs of eyes on it's face, it's upper body would entirely indistinguishable from that of a human.

It's body was badly damaged though. Wounds common from a battle littered her entire body and her legs were either entirely broken off from the joint that connected them from abdomen or twisted in gruesome angles. She sat lifelessly on the floor of his throne room.

"It would appear that this is what humans referred to when they spoke of demon gods. They call her Quelmeer." Demiurge elaborated. "I found her in the wilds near the border of the Roble Holy Kingdom. She had attacked one of my demihuman encampments."

"I assume this will not impact the plan, correct?"

"Worry not, Ainz-sama. The damage she caused was minimal. We can continue with no changes to the plan."

"You say that like I'm supposed to know what your plans are in the first place!" Ainz grumbled to himself. "Umu, good. In that case, can you explain why it is so badly damaged?"

"Unlike the majority of the combatants we've encountered in this world whom were unremarkable, this Quelmeer could actually constitute a mild threat to our plans had I not captured her. In this worlds terms, she could be considered a national level threat." He explained.

"I had to apply more force than usual when bringing her to heel which is the reason for the damage. If it displeases you, shall I have her healed?"

"Not just yet. First, I will have her answer a few of my questions." Ainz replied. "Quelmeer, you may raise your head." He addressed the Arachne Magus.

"Heed our master's words, insect." Demiurge commanded. She obeyed the order given even though she was entirely immune to Demiurge control abilities as they only affected low level monsters.

"Hm?" Ainz intently gazed at the creature in front him. He examined it from top to bottom and would occasionally mumble to himself. From his side, he could hear Albedo click her tongue which shook him from his day dreaming.

"Ahem, so you are a demon god?" He finally addressed the Arachne.

"Answer." Demiurge urged with strength in his voice.

"That is what the worms call me, yes." It finally replied. It voice was a gasping whisper, presumably from the beating it received.

"What do you mean by that." Ainz asked.

"The creatures of this world gave me such a fanciful name owing to their ignorance... I only know of eight gods and… if they were still here… they would crush you like an ant!" The Arachne Magus shouted at the top of her lungs.

"What'd you say, bitch!?" Albedo shouted in indignation.

"I apologize, Ainz-sama. It would seem I was not thorough enough with her disciplining." Demiurge said while adjusted his glasses and making an ugly face.

"No, I shall allow it for now." He said with a wave of his hand to discourage any unnecessary actions from the two. "Tell me about the eight gods you speak of."

"I would rather die than tell you bastards anything. Do you think I would betray masters?" She shot a look on condescension to Ainz.

"Hm… déjà vu?" He thought to himself as he stared deeply at the mangled creature in front of him. "If they were such great and wonderous masters then you would want to speak on their greatness, no?"

"I know what you're trying to do and it won't work. But yes, they were great. That is all you'll get out of me!"

"Oh..? Then if they were so great, where are they? Oh right, they must be dead right? Maybe they weren't so great after all."

"YOU BASTARD! HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT WHEN YOU KNOW NOTHING!? I'LL KILL YOU!" It shouted as it struggled to stand. It, of course, failed in doing so. The injuries it had sustained were too great so it only fumbled about clumsily on the floor.

"Ara, have I upset you? I did not mean such offense but I am correct, aren't I? They're dead. All of them."

"Arrrgh!" The Arachne flailed about in anger. "What would you know, you damned pile of bones! They are the greatest, most powerful beings to have ever existed!"

"They're all dead. Each and every one of them." He said again after a short pause.

"You think you're powerful? Don't make me laugh! You're just an overinflated skeleton with a fancy stick! My masters are so strong, they could destroy this entire world!"

"Dead."

"They're not dead! They're… not… dead…" Her speech trickled off into a hushed sob. Ainz remained silent as he wanted to see what would happen and a eventually, he got a reaction, though not one he expected.

"Waaaaah! Y-you big meany! You poopy head!" She burst into tears.

"W-wait, what!?" Ainz thought to himself after being taken by surprise by the sudden crying fit. "J-just a moment!"

"I hope you trip and die, you stupid, lying liar! Waaah!" The Arachne Magus tucked her head in her arms and cried out. She furiously wiped away the tears in her eyes and occasionally snorting back the snot in her nose. "They're not dead!"

The room fell into an awkward silence with only the sound of a young girl sobbing to herself. Ainz scratched his head in confusion. "Ah damn it all! Why are you making me the bad guy? You attacked us didn't you?!" He grumbled to himself.

"Hah… take her away. Heal her wounds and place her in the prison on the fifth floor." He ordered Demiurge while opening a gate for him. "I'll deal with her later."

"Yes, Ainz-sama." Demiurge stood and dragged the sobbing spider by one of her broken legs through the gate.

"Hah… give me a break, please…" He sighed aloud.

"Ainz-sama, if that thing displeases you, shall I destroy it?" Albedo leaned in close to his side with a concerned look.

"No, Albedo, it is fine. She is more valuable to us alive." He reassured her. "After all, if what I think is correct, then she is from an age more than five hundred years ago. The information she holds could prove to be invaluable to us."

"If that's what you think, then it must be correct!" Albedo shouted with zeal and an upturned stare to her master.

"Hahaha. Thank you, Albedo." He gently patted Albedo's head in amusement. Albedo's body shook at the sudden gesture and she stared wide eyed at him. Her breathing grew rapid and cheeks were flush. Her wings began to flap from their position on her waist.

"Wait, Albed-"

"Would you like to take me now, Ainz-sama!? I'm sure being insulted by an inferior being like that must have made you angry. Please! Please take your frustration out on me, master! I'm ready!" She leapt into his lap.

"Wai-!"

"Ainz-sama!" Albedo mounted him and wrapped her legs around him. She desperately clutched his face and began to kiss his bones.

"Albedo-sama has lost her mind again!" The Eight-egde Assassins shouted as they descended from the ceiling and rushed to Ainz's aid. "Stop her!"

As the sound of combat echoed through the throne room of the E-Rantel, the scales of fate shifted to one side ever-so-slightly. The implications of the mysterious new arrival were of terrible import. How would he use the new information he would gain from her?

Only time reveals all things.


End file.
